Switched Identities
by roleplay4life
Summary: When 14-year-old Christine wakes up in the body of a Mewtwo, she has no idea what is in store for her: A government conspiracy and some very surprising facts no one ever knew before...
1. New Body, Same Person

((Hee-hee, I was day-dreaming the other day, and got a really, really weird idea. I know it's becoming really common for fan-fic writers (the ones that are Pokémon fans) to write about themselves as their favourite Pokémon, but.. I couldn't resist. So, here we are, _Switched Identities_.))

**Chapter One: New Body, Same Person**

_BZZZT. BZZZT. BZZZT,_ my alarm clock buzzed, startling me from my pleasant state of sleep. I grumbled something under my breath, pulling my pillow over my face and feeling over my bed stand for the off button on the alarm clock. It was my second day of Marching Band Camp at Omaha Central Highschool, and I was not looking forward to it. All I'd do was sweat, get sore, and march. I finally found it, and slammed my hand down. The device made a crackling noise, and then went silent. Even with my eyes still closed, I could feel that it had gone flat.

_That's strange…_ I mused, pulling the pillow off and opening my eyes. Everything seemed more vivid, more colourful, and more intense. I sat up in bed, and raised a hand to rub my face. The only thing was, though, that my hand was no longer a hand.

It was a three-fingered paw.

I gasped sharply, staring at what used to be my hand. The paw was covered with white fur, and seconds later I realized that my arms were also coated with the fine hairs. I felt myself begin to panic, and quickly stopped myself. I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to clear my head, and threw off the rest of the covers…only to find that my feet were about three times as long, my legs very irregularly shaped. I quickly suppressed a scream, and smacked myself hard across the face.

_Come on, Christine, wake up, wake up, wake up!_ I ordered my body, flipping onto my stomach and burying my face in the pillow. I shut my eyes tightly, willing myself to come out of whatever dormant state of mind I was trapped in. After what felt like an hour (yet was most likely closer to five minutes), I lifted my head and slipped out from under the cotton covers. I finally opened my eyes, not looking at myself, setting my foot on the ground. After a few deep breaths, I set the other foot on the floor, and stood. For a moment, everything felt under control… until I heard something crash from behind me. I spun around and craned my neck over my shoulder, and muffled a scream. Where a normal human tailbone would have been was a long, violet tail.

I swallowed hard, still in utter disbelief. I stepped carefully across the room, attempting to figure out how to control my huge tail, and stopped in front of the mirror at the front of my room. A choked gasp escaped my throat as I gazed at my reflection.

I appeared to be the spitting image of none other than the infamous Mewtwo.

I blinked rapidly, forcing myself not to faint from shock. My blonde locks were gone, ears replaced by what seemed to be horns, and my entire figure was covered with a cream-coloured fur, with the exception of my stomach, which was the same colour as my tail. The only thing that differed was that I was still the same height, five feet and four and-a-half inches, my eyes were still blue, and I had a more feminine figure… obviously.

I opened my mouth, pulling a side of my cheek away with a paw to check out the dental work. It looked the same, except for the fact that there were fewer canines and I didn't have braces. I stuck out my tongue, which looked about the same. Luckily for me, several of Mewtwo's attributes were similar to that of a human.

I snapped back to reality, and my eyes swiveled towards the clock that was in the corner of my room. It read 7:30 AM, which meant that Dad would be on his way to work, and my mom and brother would be asleep. Band camp didn't start till nine AM, which gave me… What? An hour and a half? That would be hardly enough time.

But I needed some help on figuring out what happened overnight.

And there was only one person that I could trust to not say anything.

I crept out of my room, still having a bit of trouble walking, paws moving noiselessly across the azure carpet. I made my way through the living room, stepped softly across the creaky carpet floors, and through a small hallway until I reached my older brother's room. I snuck inside, and knelt beside his softly breathing figure. I opened my mouth to say something, and finally realized this was not going to be as easy as anticipated. After all, it's not every day that a Pokémon wakes you up early in the morning. "Aaron," I managed to hiss, almost relieved to find that I still had my own voice.

The 17-year-old's body shifted slightly under the navy-blue blankets.

"Aaron!" This time, more insistently.

_Dang, Aaron, wake up, you lazy pig!_ I thought angrily, shaking him a few times.

"Geez, Christine, what?" he mumbled, rolling over. "You don't have to call me a lazy pi-" He froze as he laid his eyes on me. His pupils shrank about half their original size, and he bolted upright, scooting back as far away from me as possible until he bumped into the window.

I groaned, having anticipated this reaction from him. "Aaron, it's me, Christine." I succeeded in working my tongue around those four words with a good deal of effort.

Aaron's look had changed from fear to skeptism. "How do I know that? You might be some evil clone from a Pokémon movie, maybe!" he said back.

"You like skateboarding, death metal music, and I think you're weird because of it. And Mom and I keep telling you to stop wearing so much black." It felt like forever to get all those syllables out with this weird tongue I had acquired, but it appeared to be worth it.

He gaped at me. "You _are_ my sister…" he whispered, and broke out into a huge grin. "DUDE, that is SO COOL! So, can you, like, fly and stuff, and create a weird purple bubble thing, and destroy stuff, and…"

"I have Band Camp today, and I'm a freakin' Pokémon!" I screeched, probably way more loudly than necessary.

That had shut him up. "Oh, right. Um… did you try playing your saxophone?"

I stood unsteadily, crossing my arms. "No, Aaron, and if Mom finds me like this, she's gonna…"

"What would I – OMIGAWD!"

I whipped around, accidentally smacking my brother in the face with my tail, and faced my horror-stricken mother. She blinked at me through her glasses, and took a step back.

"No, Mom, it's okay, it's really her!" my brother shouted, leaping from his bed and putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Aaron, get away from that – thing, it might be dangerous."

"Christine's never even socked someone in the face before. I don't think she's mentally capable of murder."

I almost winced away at his sudden sign of affection, but after a moment realized it was quite comforting. Still, something had to be figured out. I cleared my throat, and rubbed my face with a paw. "Mom," I said finally, "what you see here is… erm… a Mewtwo. Sort of. More like a female Mewtwo, but…"

"I do not know who you are but you are _not my daughter_." Her tone was cold and unforgiving, which frankly surprised me. Never had I seen her like this. "I will have you taken care of, whatever you are," she spat, turning heel angrily. My mother continued quickly down the hall till she reached the bedroom she and my father shared, stepping in and slamming the door.

I winced; hurt by the fact that she didn't even recognize me as her own daughter. Still, I had to know what she was up to. So I jogged after her, still attempting to get used to my completely different body (which was basically from the stomach down) and leaned towards her door. Inside, I could vaguely hear her…

"…Yes, it's some sort of creature… No, I'm not sure what it is! …What? An animal? No, sir, you do not understand… Wait – Take it away? To _where?_ … The creature claims to be my daughter… Well, it sounds like her and has the same personality… Oh. I understand. Well, thank you for assisting in the dealings with this issue. Hang on, one more thing: What about Christine? My daughter, you know. … Abducted? What, and switched minds with the creature? I find that -"

Her words cut off there. A zillion thoughts were running through my mind, most of them of federal agents dragging me off to some laboratory for genetic testing. I rushed to my room, throwing open drawers and pulling out clothes.

"Christine, what are you doing?"

I didn't have to look to see that it was my brother at the door, and threw open the door to my closet, searching for a backpack. "I gotta get out of here, or else I'll be in a laboratory for the rest of my life."

I saw him stare at me in pure bewilderment from the corner of my eye. "Like… the Feds are coming after you?" he choked, in a squeaky voice that I knew wasn't just an effect from puberty.

I found a decent backpack, and started throwing random sets of clothing into it at a rapid pace. I searched around my room, also stuffing in my purse, journals, and some random writing utensils.

"I'm not letting you leave home without me."

My head shot up at Aaron's statement. He had a dead serious look on his face, and somehow I knew that he wasn't lying. I looked into his eyes, and then his voice:

_"…I can't let my little sister run away from home; she needs me, and I need her. Even if she does look like a freaky clone, I know it's her. I can't stay here while she goes out into the unknown. I bet Mom turned her into the Feds…"_

I blinked, and the train of his voice stopped. "Aaron, you can't-"

"I've got savings."

"Those are for your car!"

He ignored me, grabbing the Pikachu beanie baby on my bed and tossed it to me. I caught it, and jammed it into what remaining room there was. "So, where are you going to go?"

I shrugged, and sighed. "I have no idea. Canada, maybe, or something like that."

"How are you gonna get there? I'm not that good of driver yet."

This I had not yet considered. I honestly didn't know how I was going to run away from home without the government on my tail… Which they would be, quite literally, if I didn't get moving. I dared a glance at my brother, who looked scared for a moment.

"You're not thinking of… teleporting, are you?"

"Actually, that's a really good idea, Aaron. Thanks," I said in a sarcastically happy voice, patting him on the shoulder and cramming a few more essentials into my bag and zipping it up. He was staring in sheer disbelief at me.

"But – but – You have no _idea_ how to use any of your weird abilities!" he almost shouted.

"There's no other option!" I yelled back, feeling frustrated enough to cry. I stepped over to my desk, pulling out a piece of stationery and a pen. Somehow I managed to get a grip on the writing utensil, and jotted down a quick note:

-  
_Dear Mom,  
I'm really sad that you don't believe it's me, but I know how skeptical you can be sometimes. I need to get away (considering you just called the Federal Government on your own daughter) until this whole thing clears away. I honestly have no clue how this happened, or why. I do love you, though, 'cause you're the best (and only) mom I've ever had._

I love you,  
Christine

I left it on my desk, knowing she'd look there first, and picked up my sack, swinging it over my shoulder.

"So, we're just… leaving? Now?" my brother said, and I nodded.

"Grab my hand... Er, paw. I gotta try something."

He glanced up, looking straight into my eyes, and cautiously place his hand in mine. It appeared as though he were attempting to read my thoughts. "You're really going to try this, aren't you."

I concentrated heavily on a single location, and moving every molecule in my body to that place. My eyes were squeezed shut as I strained, and suddenly it felt as though I had been slammed backwards by a solid wall. I forced my eyes open to find everything had gone black. Aaron was still clinging to my paw. My concentration faltered for a moment, and I snapped back. This was unreal, it was _actually working_. After only a few moments, a blinding light struck my eyes, and I realized something:

We were about two hundred feet up in the air, and the law of gravity was still in effect.


	2. Refuge in Montana

_**Author's Note:**_

Hey ya'll! Yay, another chapter of this crazy story!

Heehee, yay, this is probably the only time you'll ever see Montana featured in a story. x3 And sorry to any Montana natives in advance (coughcough TANNER) in case I get any references to your lovely state wrong. Now, on with Chapter Numero TWO!

**Chapter Two: Refuge in Montana**

A panic rose up in me as I flipped onto my belly and stared at the ground growing nearer and nearer.

"CHRISTINE!"

I looked around, still falling at an impossible speed. I spotted my brother tumbling even faster towards the ground, for he had not spread himself out in the typical skydiver fashion. I angled downwards slightly, grabbing his hands in mine.

"Throw your legs out!" I hollered at Aaron, glancing down every millisecond.

"What?"

"Uncurl your legs!" I ordered, fed up with the situation… that was technically my fault. He got the message, though, and now we were facing each other.

"I thought Mewtwo could fly!" he cried, sheer terror in his eyes.

"If you haven't forgotten, I'm not Mewtwo…" I mumbled. I was either going to find a way to slow down our acceleration or we were going to crash into the highway below us.

"Christine…"

I squeezed my eyes shut, fixed upon the idea of flowing with the air current…

"_Christine…!_"

I pictured very vividly the wind stopping us in our tracks…

"_ DO SOMETHING!_"

Just then, we halted in mid-air. I opened my eyes, and saw we were about six inches from the highway. A horn suddenly blared, startling me, and we dropped, landing on the hard cement. "Aaron, move!" I shrieked, letting go of his hands and rolling onto my feet. I took a huge leap, my legs still trembling, and dived to the side of the road. An enormous semi truck zoomed past us, rattling the road. My brother and I let out a simultaneous sigh of relief, and I heard him chuckle.

"So… Now you know how to levitate."

I gave him a rather dark look, though not his fault, and his smile faded in an instant.

"So, uh, where-"

"I think we're in Montana. Near Lodge Grass."

He sat upright, and blinked at me. "You teleported us to Montana? Near an _Indian Reservation?_" There was a sound of disbelief in his voice. "Montana. WHY Montana? Why not… Oh, I don't know, New York, Paris, L.A., Rome…"

"Because the only other person who will believe it's me lives here," I replied, a tad unnerved to find my voice was shaky. I reached behind and felt my backpack with a paw. _Well, at least that's still there,_ I thought, slipping it off of my shoulders and lying down in the filthy grass. I could smell every bit of pollution in the ground, and for once in my life, it was revolting. Still, the relaxing moment was certainly worth it.

Aaron rolled onto his stomach, and looked at the endless, rolling hills of South-eastern Montana. "That Tanner guy, right? The guy who's obsessed with the weird green thing?"

I had to laugh at my brother's extremely small knowledge of Pokémon. "_Grovyle_, you dunce," I corrected, still giggling.

We both exhaled exhaustingly, staring at the road.

"We should probably get moving," I finally said, and attempted to stand. I felt myself fall, and then hands grabbed my shoulders and kept me steady. I glanced back at Aaron, who had an eyebrow raised but was still smiling.

"Christine, you're trippin'."

"Yeah, on my own feet," I grumbled, finding my center of gravity. "So, what do we do now?"

Aaron was brushing the dirt off of his pants and shirt, causing me to wonder how he could be worried about his appearance in our situation. "You tell me; it was your idea."

I twisted my lip in thought, rubbing my face and still feeling the unfamiliar fine furs on it. "Well, we could try to teleport to Lodge Grass, which isn't too far away, or shoot for Big Timber." Out of the corner of my eye I saw my brother freeze for a moment. "Or we could just head to the nearest truck stop and somehow sneak in unnoticed and pray that it's going to Lodge Grass."

He looked visibly uncomfortable. "Isn't there a 'plan C'?"

"We could walk there, but then we risk someone seeing me."

Aaron stared into space, his 'thinking pose', and then snapped his fingers. "Hey, I know! We could hitchhike!"

I restrained myself from laughing at him. "Aaron, hitchhiking is _illegal_. Well, prohibited, at least. And do you think someone would honestly take _me_?"

"I wouldn't."

I growled, smacking him lightly in the face with my tail.

"You know, you're kind of anal today."

I spun to face him, _very_ ticked off for possibly the first time today; maybe the first time in my whole life. "Really? _REALLY?_ Wow, have you not noticed that I just got turned into a female replica of an ANIME CHARACTER and now the Feds are on my case? Huh? _Huh?_" I stared into my brother's bright, blue eyes, and he looked… Scared. I instantly felt horrible for how I had blown up at him like that, and calmed. Shivers ran up and down my arms and through my whole body. "This is why I need to get through this, and why I need you," I said softly, staring into the partly cloudy sky above us.

He exhaled dejectedly. "Well, I guess our only choice is to teleport."

"You really want to do that again?"

"God, no. But if it's the only thing that'll work…" Aaron smirked at me. "Just try to get us at most a foot from the ground instead of 200."

I rolled my eyes, but was smiling now. "Can't make any promises, my brother." I stretched my paws, and grinned at him. "Want to shoot for Big Timber and get it over with or make a stop in Lodge Grass? I know _exactly_ where that is."

"What's Lodge Grass again?"

"A Crow Native American reservation."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I guess we could stop there. Do they have food there?"

I stifled a guffaw. "Aaron, every town has food! Well, if you're hungry, let's just hit Big Timber, even though it's at least half the size of the reservation, but we'll get there more quickly."

"Then let's go, come on!"

"All right, all right," I murmured, and held out my paws. He gripped his hands in mine, and I squeezed my eyes shut, attempting to get back that familiar notion of teleportation. This time, however, we were outside, and the wind seemed to pick up momentarily, and that invisible steel wall slammed into me once again, thrusting me backwards through that unforgiving blackness of space and matter. I made sure to concentrate heavily on the pictures I had seen on Satellite of Lodge Grass, particularly on the _ground_. I forced my eyes open, Aaron still hanging onto me for dear life, and that blinding light appeared once again. I felt the pull of gravity, and we dropped a mere foot, landing on a solid surface. My brother's heavy shoes landed quite heavily, and from the sound they made I knew we were on grass without even looking. I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the light, and almost instantly noticed that the air was cleaner here.

_Well, you're not human anymore,_ I reminded myself, feeling a bit sick at the thought. So I wasn't human; wasn't even really an animal. So what did that make me? Some kind of alien?

Aaron must have seen the sickened look on my face because he touched my shoulder gently. "Christine, we're gonna get through this. A'ight?"

I met his eyes and forced a smile followed by a nod. "Right."

I looked around the town, raising an eyebrow at how small it was. For a moment, I thought I had been captured in a 21st century version of _Little House on the Prairie_. But after seeing a few signs with the words, "Big Timber" on them I knew we were in the right place.

Now all we needed to do was find 16-year-old Tanner Colvin and figure out the best way to work through this mess.


	3. Welcome to Big Timber

**Chapter Three: Welcome to Big Timber **

An hour later, Aaron and I were flipping through a phone book he had purchased in a small store (though _all_ the stores seemed tiny here), when Aaron stopped after about thirty seconds.

"Ya know what? This is too much work."

I raised an eyebrow, sighing. Typical Aaron. "We've only been at it for about a minute!"

"So? Do you know what his house looks like?"

"What do you think? I don't, like, _stalk_ him."

"Does he have a car?"

Then I remembered, "Yeah, actually, he does!" A smile spread across my face, and I beamed at my brother. "Wow, you're a genius! I even know what kind it is; a '95 Subaru Legacy. White, I think, with a trailer next to it, and the garage behind it is all crappy and stuff."

He was staring at me. "The dude drives a _'95_? That's sad…"

I rolled my eyes, and stood, cracking my back. "Oof… Okay, let's get goin'."

Aaron was still laughing a bit about the fact that my friend drove a car made in 1995, and I found that quite hilarious considering _he_ didn't have a car – Period. But, I could never really count on my older brother to be serious when it was needed.

"Maybe you should, like, fly."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Uh, excuse me?"

"You know, lifting off into the air. _Off the ground._"

"Well, duh, but I mean that I have no clue how to do that." I paused for a second. "What, you're suddenly an expert on aviation?"

"What's that?"

I hung my head hopelessly. _Idiot,_ I thought annoyedly.

"Hey, did you just call me an idiot?"

That struck me suddenly. Earlier, when I was waking him up, he had commented on something I had… thought. "Look at me."

"You just called me an idiot, and-"

"Just do it!" I pressed.

He grumbled a few swear words under his breath, and stared into my eyes. I felt a tiny connection come between us, and I thought, _Aaron, raise your hand if you can hear me._

The teenage boy lifted his hand, giving me a look. "Uh… Why'd ya tell me to raise my hand? We're on summer vacation."

"I didn't say anything! I didn't even open my mouth," I stammered, a little more freaked out with myself now

Aaron seemed to think it over for a minute, and then said, "Oh, wow, you didn't, did you?"

"No!"

He broke out into a grin. "Hey, then that means I'm a psychic! Like Shawn!"

Every thought and hope that Aaron may have had some sort of brain left in his cranium escaped me, and I exhaled loudly. Yes, he was still the same old older brother, even when both of our lives were basically on the line. Still, I had to give him credit for mentioning _Psych_ when it came to psychic-like matters.

"…I think that was telepathy."

"Oh." A blank look passed over his face. "What's telepathy?"

"I'll let you Google it when we get to Tanner's…" I grumbled, rubbing my face. It still felt strange to have hair on my face along with what felt like a snout. "Do you still want me to try flying?"

"Yeah. Like, however Mewtwo did it."

"Mewtwo was _born_ with all his abilities. I've had mine for about… eight hours, since I probably got them after I fell asleep. But I can try, if you think I can do it."

He nodded, crossing his arms, and I took a deep breath. "'Kay, here goes nothin'." I closed my eyes, trying to get a connection with the same energy I had channeled through to teleport. A sort of force tugged at me slightly, and I felt my feet lift off the ground. I opened my eyes, and quickly faltered a gasp; I was at least three feet above the cement. My concentration waned slightly, making me sink about six inches, but I connected with the same psychokinetic energy, and after a minute or so found that it was fairly simple to stay off of the ground. Aaron was below me, beaming as radiantly as the sun.

"Hey, my little sister can fly now!" he shouted, and I quickly made a gesture for him to be quiet.

"Hey, my big brother better shut his mouth before the _National Enquirer_ gets here!" I retorted, thought rather quietly. "I'm going to search for his house by air, just follow me."

He scowled slightly, but gave me a cocky smirk as I propelled myself forward, scanning the streets. It was an extremely small town compared to where my brother and I were from, I quickly noticed. After all, according to my Montanan friend, the population was only about 1,200… Namely, less half the size of my highschool. It was actually a bit annoying to know that I couldn't remember at all what his house looked like, and I had to ask Aaron the details of a few white cars. He was the one to find the Subaru, and waved to me when he had spotted the vehicle. I floated down, letting go of the energy and feeling a bit relieved when my paws touched the solid grass. Flying was freeing, but a bit too much for my somewhat overly cautious personality.

I checked out the surroundings, and everything seemed to fall into my memory. The area looked almost just as it had in the photograph. I patted the car's hood, mumbling, "I am so glad that Tanner took a picture of you."

Aaron tapped my shoulder. "Uh, come on, let's _go._ We found your boyfriend, so let's go say hi."

"For the last time, he is _NOT_ my boyfriend!" I growled, turning tail swiftly and noticing that I had probably smacked him with my newest appendage again by the slight groan followed by a swear word.

I stepped up to the doorway, and had the sudden urge to turn tail – literally – and run. Tanner obviously didn't know me as well as my own brother, and had never really seen me in person. Hopefully I would be able to convince him quickly that I was Christine and not some demented clone from a Japanese cartoon.

I raised my arm, hesitant, and finally knocked on the white door. A few moments passed, and I grew abruptly impatient, knocking a bit harder.

"Coming!" a male voice grumbled loudly from inside the house. I inhaled sharply, letting out more slowly. Whatever happened in the next ten seconds would ultimately determine what happened to me.

The inside door swung open, revealing a six-foot-tall teenager. He had reddish hair; green eyes that still looked sleepy, and shorts and a t-shirt on. He looked as if he had just woken up, and it was then I realized that it was only about eight o'clock in the morning here. The teen blinked at me, rubbing his eyes, and then came into a sudden state of shock. He screamed, running off into a different part of the house.

This was not going good.

He sprinted back with a BB-gun in his hands, and cocked it, malicious wildfire in his eyes, hollering, "GET AWAY FROM HERE, YOU SON OF A-"

His last words were cut off as the firearm exploded, and I somehow dodged the circular bullet. Aaron, thankfully, was well out of the way of the bullet's path, and it hit a tree.

"Tanner, it's Christine!" I shouted, my pulse racing.

"Oh, yeah, like I'm supposed to believe that!" my friend replied, sending another bullet in my direction. I miraculously dodged that one as well, possibly thanks to my keen reflexes. Still, having my best online buddy try to kill me was not pleasing, obviously.

"Okay, maybe I can prove it to you! Um, um… Your name is Tanner Colvin, and you like the color green, and you have a little sister, and you're 16, and your favourite holiday is Halloween, and your Yahoo is Grovylegamer2007 or something!" I blurted frantically.

Tanner's only reply was to stare at me with malice… now accompanied with disbelief. "…And now I have an alien _stalking me_?" He was cocking the BB-gun again.

"I'm not an alien! I woke up this morning no longer in my 14-year-old human body and now I look like… Well, just look at me!" I felt on the verge of tears… or fainting, for that matter. I prayed that he would at least take a millisecond to at least glance at the creature in front of him.

Tanner did, and his tight grip on the firearm weakened until he dropped it, an eye twitching slightly. "Holy _crap_, you're…"

"Yeah, Mewtwo. Except I'm not. 'Cause seriously, do you think he has this weird girly voice? And the blue eyes? And the…" I glanced down at my female-looking chest. "…You know."

He was still gaping at my odd figure. I now understood why Mewtwo was so uncomfortable in large groups. "So… Christine…" he seemed to be choosing his words with the utmost caution. "Does anyone else… know?"

"Yeah, me, and if you try to jump my sister again, I'll beat the crap outta you."

We both turned to face my brother, who was glaring at Tanner profusely.

I raised an eyebrow... Well, provided I actually _had_ eyebrows… at his protectiveness. "Tanner, this is my brother, Aaron. Aaron, this is Tanner, a good friend of mine." I turned to Aaron, saying, "…And that would've been your reaction had you had a BB-Gun within reach."

The 17-year-old scoffed, tossing his long, blonde bangs to the side, but didn't say anything.

Tanner still seemed to be in a state of shock. "How the heck did you guys get here, anyways?"

I smirked a little. "Handy little ability known as 'teleportation'." His jaw had dropped in pure disbelief. "Hey, you do what you gotta do."

He rubbed his head, and then realized we were all still out on his front lawn in broad daylight. "No offense, but we better get inside before someone sees you," the Montana native said, heading towards the door and beckoning for Aaron and I to follow.

"None taken," I mumbled under my breath, following him inside.

We found ourselves in a fairly clean-cut home, the cement changing to a hardwood floor as we entered. The first thing we saw was a silver, flat screen television right next to an old wood piano. Beside that was a light gray sectional couch, which I proceeded to plop down on, thankful to be sitting down. I opened an eye, looking at Tanner. "I am forever in your debt," I said, rubbing my face.

He was actually smirking a bit. "You know, we talked all those times about meeting up in person, but…" He chuckled a bit. "I never even could fathom that you'd show up at my door looking like a Pokémon."

I watched him carefully, sitting up and cradling my tail in my lap. "You're taking this surprisingly well. I mean, Aaron did, but he's known me for over fourteen years."

An awkward pause followed these words, and Tanner cleared his throat. "…Why did you come to my house? Why not one of your friends in Nebraska?"

A sigh escaped from my mouth as I pondered the question. "Why?" I repeated softly, and then looked him dead in the eyes. "Because you were the only person I knew I could come to that wouldn't freak out and call the federal government right away."

His expression suddenly turned concerned. "Wait – The Feds? I thought only you and your brother-"

"Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that," I interrupted, wincing. "My mom kind of walked in on Aaron and I and called 911 claiming there was some sort of strange creature in our house. She wouldn't believe it was me."

"And then Christine stuffed a whole bunch of her things in this backpack that I've got right now and tried to leave. Well, she did, but I wouldn't let her go without me," Aaron continued, arms crossed across his chest. He was leaning against one of the spicy-orange walls in the living room, still eyeing Tanner suspiciously.

"Yup. I left a note for Mom on my desk; I'm hoping that she'll read it at the least. I teleported us to some interstate outside of Lodge Grass and then we came here."

The red-headed teenager was shaking his head in astonishment. "I _still_ can't believe you two came all the way out to Montana. But you guys are in luck; my mom's out of town and my sister's at a friend's house today and tonight."

"So you'll let us crash here for the night?" I asked hopefully, standing quickly.

He shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean, I'm not gonna just make one of my best friends and her brother stay outside and risk getting stuck in a laboratory."

I ran over to my friend, embracing him tightly. I let go, ignoring the completely baffled look on his face, and felt my face grow slightly warmer. "Okay, if you don't get a 'greatest friend in the whole universe' award, then I'm sending a letter of complaint, because you have no idea how thankful I am to know you."

Tanner rubbed the back of his neck rather nervously. "Uh… Thanks?" he tried with a quiet laugh, and started towards a kelly-green kitchen. "Come on, I'll show you my room."

Aaron and I followed, and I thought to myself again, _You're the greatest friend a girl could have._


	4. A Few New Perks?

**Chapter Four: A Few New… Perks?**

The three of us entered into a bedroom that was probably the size of my room _and_ my brother's – combined. A huge queen-sized bed with a striped chair at the foot was the first thing I noticed. A blue rug with what appeared to be planet-like circles on it was to the left of the bed, sitting atop a hardwood floor not unlike the rest of the house. In front of the chair was a fairly small TV, surrounded by a plethora of games, most of them I didn't recognize. My eyes fell on a Nintendo 64, a Playstation, and a few systems that looked old enough to have been my father's.

"Sorry, I didn't have time to clean up. Your visit was…" Tanner paused, looking me over once again. "…unexpected."

I shuddered internally under his gaze, swallowing hard. "Yeah, well, so was waking up with a furry, purple tail and feet bigger than Shaquille O'Neil's."

Aaron, meanwhile, with his inability to be serious, was flipping through the multitude of games. "Geez, man, I knew you liked to play video games, but this is _insane_! Dude, Christine, he has a _WII._ Dude!"

We stared at him for a long while before erupting into laughter almost simultaneously. My laughs eventually died down into girlish giggles, and I looked at my brother almost lovingly. "Wow, Aaron. I just got turned into some sort of mutated cat, disowned by my own mother, we are hundreds of miles from home, and all you can think about is video games." I stepped over, still chuckling, and patted his shoulder.

"I have to give your brother credit, though. If my sister had the same thing happen to her, I'm not sure I'd go all the way to… Wherever with her." A smirk passed over his face for a moment, and he let out a deep sigh. "Well, make yourselves comfortable, I guess."

It was then that I noticed my stomach was grumbling. I had left home without so much as a Pop-Tart, or a crumb for that matter. I hadn't eaten since last night, and I always ate breakfast each morning without fail.

"Hey, uh, Tanner?"

He looked over. "Yeah?"

"Um… Would you mind if I got something to eat?"

My friend shrugged indifferently. "I wouldn't. Fridge is to the left; help yourself. Just don't eat everything."

I grinned, nodding my thanks, and hurried out of his room and into the kitchen.

After standing with the black refrigerator door open for probably a full three or four minutes, I grabbed a bottle of Ranch dressing, a bag of salad, and two sushi rolls. It took me a millisecond to guess that Tanner had made the sushi, but what were the odds of him noticing two gone? Pretty good, after I thought about it, but oh well…

As I fished through the cabinets for a bowl, I began contemplating the fact that all the meat had smelled absolutely repulsive, but the sushi delightful. Usually, I loved meat… With the exception of steak and pork, of course.

_Maybe Mewtwo's a pescatarian…_ I mused, and an image of Mewtwo sinking his teeth into a Magikarp appeared in my mind. An involuntary shudder went up my spine at the thought, and I dumped the green salad into a ceramic bowl. _Well, if anything, he's an omnivore, according to the dental work I've acquired._

The thought moved to the back of my consciousness as I proceeded to practically drown the leafy vegetables in Ranch, and put everything back into the fridge. I popped one of the sushi rolls into my mouth, letting out a sigh of delight. Apparently my sense of taste had been heightened as well, and the Japanese delicacy taste… heavenly.

I managed to find a fork, and started to head back towards Tanner's room. I stuck the other sushi roll in my mouth, once more delighting in the salty yet almost sweet taste, and stepped in.

Aaron and Tanner were seated on the end of the queen-sized bed, both staring intently at the television screen in front of them, Nintendo 64 controllers in their hands. I recognized the theme music as that of _Super Smash Bros._, and smirked, taking a seat on the bed. I started on my salad, somehow handling a fork in my paw, and watched.

Aaron, as usual, chose Captain Falcon as his character, while Tanner used Samus. Both seemed magnetized to the game, neither so much as shifting their eyes in my direction.

_Well, boys will be boys…_

After a few minutes, I heard the customary, "4… 3… 2… 1… TIME UP!" as the match ended. Then, "This game's winner is… SAMUS!" a male voice announced enthusiastically, and my friend let out a whoop of success.

I smirked, rolling my eyes, and set my salad bowl down next to the bed. "All right you guys, let me show you who's the boss in this game." The two teenagers looked over in surprise as I took a seat in the chair in front of them. Aaron handed over his controller, and I took it from him. I sat on my side, legs folded, my tail hanging off the edge.

_Thank God Mewtwo developed opposable thumbs,_ I thought, adjusting to the bulky controller. Tanner and I chose our players (Pikachu for me, Samus for him) and I grinned at my friend. "Let's see how you do against one of the greatest minds in the universe."

"Bull," my brother mumbled, and I blew a raspberry at him.

Tanner merely cocked an eyebrow, a smirk planted on his face, and hit 'Start'.

Four minutes later, the virtual match was looking anything but in my favor. He'd had a total of ten k-o's compared to my three, and there were just two minutes left in the match. I managed to nail his Samus with a Thunder move, but was once more knocked off the edge. I was able to knock Samus off two more times, and the game had just twenty seconds left. My pulse picked up several beats, thumbs flying madly over the controller. A sort of energy suddenly became apparent in the room, but I figured it was 'just me'.

"You a'ight?" I heard Aaron ask, but ignored him.

The time ticked down, until there was the "5… 4… 3… 2… 1… TIME UP," and the game froze. I shouted, "DANGIT!" my frustration suddenly being released, and I threw the controller down. Suddenly, though, there was a loud, _BANG!_

We all ducked simultaneously as various electronic pieces flew all over the bedroom. Something hard whacked me in the head, despite my face being covered protectively by my tail. "Ow…" I cracked open an eye, only to find a white, rectangular object with wires poking out sitting in my lap. After a moment, I recognized it as a Wii controller. Half of one, anyways.

My eyes traveled slowly towards a massive burn mark on the oak floor, and my stomach flopped.

Tanner's brand-new, 400 Wii was in a million pieces, all scattered about the bedroom. Its fine white exterior was completely blown apart, and not a single mechanism was intact. One of the controllers had been thrown out the window (which was originally open, thankfully) while the game that was in the system was now lodged into the wall. Miraculously, though, that game system was the only thing damaged. The Nintendo 64 and the television were still running, the cheerful battle music providing background for the chaotic event that had just occurred.

"Well," I began, clearing my throat and surveying the damage. "Now we know how Mewtwo blew up an entire laboratory, eh?" My chuckles faded when I saw the boys' expressions. Tanner looked split between running for his life and shooting at me with his Airsoft again, while Aaron appeared pale as a ghost despite his mid-summer tan.

"May… Maybe I can fix it," my brother was choking out, shakily picking up a mangled bunch of wires connected to a chip. It was burned and charred, certainly beyond repair.

I slouched in the chair, lost for words. "Look, Tanner, I'm really, _really_ sorry, I honestly had no idea that would happen, it's just that it was almost the end, and I was getting really nervous, and I completely lost it and it was just like…"

"…Instinct?" my friend interrupted, his entire expression forlorn as he stared at the mutilated game system. "At least I've got a warrantee on it…"

Several hours later, we had managed to get his room cleaned up, tossing the remains of the Wii in a Hefty trash bag. Tanner had been able to call to get a replacement on the game system, claiming it had 'spontaneously combusted'. Which was partially true, except for the fact that the machine hadn't exploded all on its own.

At the moment, we were out in the living room, watching, much to my delight, _Spaceballs: The Movie_. Aaron had been kind enough to run over to the video rental store (Big Timber was so small, you didn't even need to drive) and pick up my favourite movie. For once in the past eighteen hours, everything felt normal. I was with my older brother and one of my best friends, curled up on a leather couch, and eating a tuna sandwich.

I was erupting into another fit of giggles about halfway through the movie, and spotted Aaron roll his eyes.

"What? This is, like, the best movie in the universe!" I exclaimed, grinning.

"Does she always mouth every line in this?" That was from Tanner, who was likely more amused with my behaviour than the actual DVD.

"Yes," my brother and I answered at the same time. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

"How often do you watch this?" he asked me.

"Too much," Aaron mumbled, and I quickly shushed both of them.

"Quiet! This is the best part!"

I grinned again, sinking into the couch, my eyes plastered onto the television screen. Out of the very corner of my eye I caught Tanner chuckle lightly, but ignored it.

Soon after, the movie was over, and the sun was beginning to set behind the horizon. I stood, stretching my limbs. "Hey guys, I think I'll go for a walk." Both of them started to blurt something when I continued, "…By _myself_, I mean. I'll be fine. I can fly, ya know, and keep to the shadows." I offered a reassuring smile.

Tanner watched me for a long while before slowly nodding his head. "All right. But be careful. It's a small town, and if anything unusual is seen, news travels fast."

"Me? Unusual?" I snorted sarcastically, striking a pose to show off my unusual figure. "Nah…" The three of us literally cracked up laughing at that.

"Watch yourself," Aaron suggested, and I nodded.

"Aaron; help me dig out the sleeping bags?"

My brother turned to Tanner. "Sure."

They walked off to a different part of the house, and I headed out the door. Only a glimmer of sunlight remained in the western sky, golden and magenta hues decorating the sky. The cleaner, fresher air of a lightly populated area seeped into my nostrils, sharpening the senses. The cooling breeze was still fairly warm, as it would stay most of the night. I had been in this state only two months ago, for a mission trip with my church (thus my familiarity with Lodge Grass), and was aware that despite being so far north, summers were still stifling hot here. It wasn't as humid or sticky as Nebraska, though, thankfully. The heavy rains that had hit here in June had since dried up, which was quite pleasing. I could still feel the mosquitoes biting at me…

I once more tapped into the now-familiar psychic energy, feeling my body rise above the ground. A smile small crept over my face. I wondered for a moment if the actual Mewtwo enjoyed being able to fly as much as I currently did.

I rose above the rooftops, careful to remain concentrated on the telekinetic energy keeping my body afloat. I wasn't sure of my actual weight, but I doubted it was much more than it had been originally. I floated over the town, keeping into the shadows and away from streetlights. It was really quite exciting, seeing everything from a bird's-eye view.

A fairly large building came into view, and judging by the steeple with a cross adorning its top, I guessed it was a church. I flew over to it, finding a flat spot, and rested my feet on the roof. It stung at first, like hot sand on a beach, but after a minute it didn't burn as much. I sat down, getting as comfortable as possible, and looked out at the sun disappearing behind the horizon. The Crazy Mountains were silhouetted in the background, creating the ideal Kodak moment. For a moment I wished I had brought a camera, but the view was spectacular as is.

The sun eventually disappeared, leaving the mountain range in the distance in only a faint glimmer of light. I figured it was probably about time to be heading back, but a few minutes wouldn't hurt. After all, the streets were basically clear this time.

I dropped off of the roof, landing on a window sill outside the cathedral. My back paw nearly slipped, but I caught myself before falling. I poked my head through the open window, looking into a large chapel. It didn't appear that anyone was inside. Mondays typically weren't terribly busy in the Christian faith.

_Or Catholic,_ I corrected myself, recognizing a few items that labeled this place as under the influence of a Pope.

I slipped through the opening, dropping down several feet and landing – amazingly – on my feet. I righted myself, stepping through the aisle past the stained-glass windows. My eyes had since adjusted to the darkness, and I could see quite well despite the minimal amount of light. A lighted altar was at the head of the Sanctuary, and I walked towards it.

I slowed as I neared the area, and stopped in front of it. I simply crossed my arms, looking up at a cross with a cloth over it.

"God," I began, quite casually, "if this is some kind of cruel joke, I don't think it's funny. If it's something I did, I'm sorry. _Really_. I mean, my own mom just abandoned me. Oh, and thank you for Matthew West. He's amazing. Ame-"

A door was suddenly swung open, banging against a wall.

"My child, the chapel is closed Monday nights…" a masculine voice announced, not unkindly.

I whipped around, startled. A middle-aged man in long robes was standing on the other side of the chapel, holding a large Bible, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of wine. He looked up, and froze like a statue when his eyes laid on me.

"Uh… Hi! Nice church you've got here… uh… 'Father'," I called, gesturing to the area around us. My voice reached his ears, and all three items he'd been holding clattered to the floor. The priest and I simply stood there, frozen, until his expression suddenly turned absolutely furious. For a moment, he almost looked less human than I did.

"_DEMON! YOU SHALL SURELY BURN IN HELL FOR POISONING THIS HOLY PLACE!_" He was running down the aisle between the pews, wielding a sloshing bowl of water.

I let out a tiny squeal, starting to dash around him. The man grabbed my tail, and I screeched in pain, falling flat to the ground.

"_Now the good Lord will deal with YOU,_" he roared, wildfire in his eyes, and dumped the entire bowl of water all over me. I kicked out instinctively, and the friar let go of my tail to dodge the assault. He looked more than a little surprised that the 'holy water' had done nothing more than soak me to the bone.

"You know, I'm a Methodist, and we're not really into the whole exorcism thing," I explained, picking myself up and glaring intently at him. "Just because I'm not Roman Catholic doesn't give you the right to attack me."

Moments later, he let out a high wheezing noise, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. He began to crumple to the ground, and I reached out, catching him before he could give himself a concussion. I let him down softly, taking a deep breath and backing off.

_Maybe he'll just think it was all a dream,_ I mused, squeezing excess water out of my tail. Amazing how well fur retained water… Now I knew why my dog didn't like baths, and her fur was water-resistant. I levitated several feet off the ground, propelling myself out the window I had come in and back towards Tanner's house.

Too bad I didn't know how to erase memories.

I floated back down to the ground when I reached the residence, and pushed open the door. I was basically dry by now, but still uncomfortably wet. I shuffled through the house till I got to Tanner's room, where I found he and my brother hanging out on his bed. I let the door slam open, and they looked up.

Aaron blinked, and then began to snicker at me. "Dude, what did you do? Go swimming?"

I ignored him, and turned to Tanner. "Hey, um… Got any towels?"

"So you're saying that the priest actually mistook you for some sort of… demon?" Tanner asked as I rubbed my face and head dry.

I nodded. "Yeah, and right when I was praying, rather ironically." I tossed the towel into a laundry hamper. "He should be awake by now. He fainted when he realized the Holy Water had failed to send me down to…" I paused. "Well, you know."

Tanner appeared quite uncomfortable at this news. "Did he get a good look at you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I think I have better night vision than a human, but the altar I was at was lighted. When I tried to run away, he grabbed my tail, so he certainly knows I'm not just an average Joe. I just hope he wakes up thinking it was all a dream."

He exhaled loudly, glancing away. "Let's just get some sleep. It's been a… long day." With that, we went back to his room.

About half an hour later, I was curled up on top of a plushy sleeping bag, seeing as it was too warm to sleep inside of it. I snuggled up into the pillow Tanner had been kind enough to lend me. Adjacent to where I was lay Aaron, slumbering soundlessly. I smiled, closing my eyes and rolling onto my side. I thought about how, despite everything, today had gone fairly well. I still had my brother, who I knew would always love me, and one of the best friends I'd ever had. They would be there to back me up, no matter what, even though I _hardly_ looked like myself. There were people out there, teenagers just like me, who didn't have anyone, for whatever odd reason. Sure, I was hundreds of miles from home, and my own mother had basically disowned me, but I had people who cared.

With these pleasant thoughts, I slipped into peaceful unconsciousness.

_BANG. BANG. BANG._

The sound of someone slamming their fist against the door instantly awakened me. I bolted upright, sweat collecting on my paws, and I held my head, looking at the clock.

_3:05 A.M.? Who the heck would be visiting at three in the morning?_

Tanner was clambering out of the bed, the banging continuing at the front of the house. My friend grumbled several swear words under his breath, trudging out of the room. I edged towards the doorway of the room, pressing my ear in the crack.

"HOLD ON," Tanner shouted, followed by another swear. The door clicked, and then was opened. "What?"

I heard a man say, "Are you Tanner Colvin?" He bore a slightly thick Russian accent.

"Yeah," my friend was replying. "What the _hell_ do you want?"

"I am Agent Kruchvek, a member of the American – Russian Federal Bureau of Investigation. I have a warrant and direct orders to search this house."

"What? A warrant? American – Russian? What is this, some kind of reality TV show?"

"We received an anonymous tip of an unusual creature in the area. All clues pointed to this home. Now you will either allow us entry, or we will use force."

"This is an outrage!" Tanner shouted, clearly upset with this federal agent.

But it was then that I became more upset than even he was.

I realized what they were after –

_**Me.**_


	5. The ARFBI

**Chapter Five: The A-RFBI**

Amidst the chaos just at the other end of the house, Aaron and I had still managed to remain hidden. Aaron pulled on my arm. "_Hide,_" he whispered loudly, and I complied to his quiet suggestion. Heavy footsteps resounded throughout the dark house, and I slipped into a closet in the bedroom. I shut the door as noiselessly as possible, only a thin stream of light streaking in. I crammed myself to the side of the tiny room, holding my breath against the stench of fresh laundry and a few moth balls. I wasn't claustrophobic, but my pulse skipped a beat when the heavy footsteps entered the room.

"Where is it?" a female voice demanded, probably belonging to a Midwestern, judging by the severe lack of an accent.

"It? What is 'it'? The Wii?" Aaron asked, yawning loudly.

"I am sure you know perfectly well–"

"_IT'S FREAKIN' THREE IN THE MORNING!_" my brother shouted, and there was a chance that was the main reason why he was so annoyed.

I tried to teleport, taking advantage of the agents being distracted, but couldn't manage to get my head straight. The fervent argument continued outside the door, and all I could do was stand shivering the corner of this tiny room.

I began piling hordes of objects, everything in the closet I could find, in front of the door. There was no lock on the inside, unfortunately, and I was almost positive Aaron nor Tanner had bothered to lock the closet.

"Check the closet," the female agent instructed, the same one I had heard before. "I'm willing to bet both of these kids have read _Anne Frank_."

"Isn't that the one with that one Jewish girl?" Aaron inquired, and I had to keep myself from smacking my head loudly into my palm.

"Well, one of them, anyways…" the agent mumbled under her breath, but loudly enough that it was still audible.

"Mrs. Stover was boring! Not my fault!" my brother cried, and moments later I heard Tanner hiss something along the lines of, "_Shut UP._"

"Break down the door," she ordered, and my stomach did a full somersault.

"My mom'll kill you if you break that door," Tanner said warningly, and something slammed full-force into the door, shaking the entire closet.

I stared at my paws, my mind whizzing at a million miles an hour. How in heck did Mewtwo create those weird Shadow Ball things that destroyed entire laboratories? I tuned out the continuous banging on the door, concentrating.

_BANG._

Everything was mental, as the power surged through my body, and I focused on sending it to my hands…

_BANG._

There was a slight tingling sensation in my right palm, so I concentrated on that one. Sure enough, a small black energy ball began to materialize in the center of my paw.

_BANG – CRASH!_

The door was knocked down violently, and I flung what little of the Shadow Ball I had created at the closet. It didn't hit the agent that was currently pointing a large firearm at me, but blasted a huge hole in the closet. I started running through the darkness, my eyes adjusting to the dimness, and I recognized one of the agents as Kruchvek. He grabbed my tail with the hand that wasn't wielding a high-tech-looking rifle, bringing me down hard. I bit back a cry, my entire backside throbbing. _What is it with people and their need to grab tails?_ I wondered, silently vowing never to tug on my dog's tail again.

"Christine!" Aaron and Tanner shouted, but something hard, cold, and metal hit me square in the back of my skull before I could respond. Searing pain flowed through every nerve for a split second, and then everything went black.

When I finally regained consciousness, filtered sunlight streamed in through an unknown source and hit my eyes. I blinked, adjusting to the brightness, and my surroundings became clearer. I was in a metal box of sorts, about four and a half feet tall, maybe five feet wide, and 6 feet long, give or take. A rumbling engine was clearly audible, and there were two windows in this sort of prison I was currently in. I painstakingly sat up, groaning as I rubbed my head. The Russian agent must have hit me in the head with the butt of his rifle… I took a closer look at what I was currently in, and suddenly realized I was probably in the back of an automobile. And by the looks of it, probably a van.

I lifted a hand to rub my neck, and paused. It felt… weighted down, oddly enough. I glanced at my arm, and sure enough, a heavy metal band was snapped onto my wrist. I attempted to tug it off over my paw, but they had somehow gotten it on so I couldn't get it off myself. The purpose of the band, I didn't know, but honestly didn't care. All I knew was that I had to get off of this thing, because wherever I was being driven, it sure wasn't going to be a vacation in Hawaii.

I concentrated, attempting to pull off the Shadow Ball move I had managed to do back in Montana. Strange thing was, though, I couldn't even tap into my psychic abilities. It was as if they had simply been… locked away.

My eyes fell on the heavy metal bracelet, and blinked. _No, no, no, Christine, you're crazy, you're _insane_, that tiny little thing can't possibly restrain all your abilities,_ I told myself firmly, but in my heart I knew I was probably right. Somehow, this disgustingly huge thing on my wrist had effectively disabled my every skill.

I let out a loud groan, slumping once again. Warm air blew onto my head, and I glanced up. _A heater? In the middle of summer?_ I wondered, and managed to stand on my two feet to look out the window. I gazed out, and stifled a gasp.

I was being driven down a highway surrounded entirely by snow. Not a single sign of life was visible in the frozen desert of rock and snow. My mind was wheeling at the possibilities. I could be in Greenland, or Canada, or Alaska, or Antarctica, or –

"Russia," I whispered, beginning to fall victim to paranoia. "_I'm in RUSSIA!_" I screeched loudly, and the moving vehicle suddenly swerved wildly. The momentum threw me crazily off balance, and my foot slipped, sending me crashing into the side. The automobile jerked to the left, and I slid to the adjacent side, slamming painfully against my shoulder. I braced myself as the car screeched to a stop, and sighed in relief when the chaos finally ended.

For the next three seconds, anyways.

The trunk of the van clicked as it was unlocked, and swung open. Freezing air blasted into my once-warm haven, and I scooted into the back corner, hugging myself in an attempt to keep warm. An African-American woman, probably in her late twenties, stood outside, eyes moving over me and the rest of the trunk. She was dressed snugly in a thick parka, hat, and scarf, making me more than a little envious. The woman watched me closely, and finally said, "You're awake."

I found myself nodding, but didn't reply. I merely shivered as the frozen air seeped its way in, surveying her. Her voice was a lot like the one of the female agent back in Montana. After all, she more than likely worked with the ARFBI.

"Did something happen here?" she ventured to ask, and then smacked her forehead. "What am I _saying?_ I'm talking to an _animal_. Chances are, you can't even understand–"

"I can understand you fine, ma'am," I interrupted hotly through chattering teeth. "Now could you please shut the door? This fur ain't that thick, ya know."

The agent stared at me in disbelief, her jaw hanging open. "It speaks English."

My face grew slightly warmer despite the subzero temperatures. "'She', please, not 'it'. Now how would you feel if I stuck you in a metal freezer, with all your abilities stripped, and called you an 'it'? That would be kinda rude, huh?"

Her face hardened, and she started to say something, but I put up a paw to stop her.

"No. I'm not done yet. Just because I don't look human doesn't mean I'm not on the inside. You probably don't even know what I am!"

"You were a lot less annoying before you could talk," the lady grumbled, slamming the trunk shut and heading back to the driver's seat. The engine roared to life, and the van began to move again.

I found an air vent, and crawled over to it, speaking quite loudly. "Now are you going to tell me what the heck's going on or not? Where are we? Where are Tanner and Aaron? What time is it? Why'd you restrain my abilities? What's-"

"_WOULD YOU SHUT UP?_" she hollered, clearly agitated. I almost spat something back, but held my tongue. "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you. All of our studies show that, since you are not human, you're not supposed to be capable of communicating with humans." She sighed loudly, pausing, then continued, "You're currently en route to our study facility in Central Siberia. We loaded you on a jet back in Montana while you were unconscious, flew to Moscow, tossed you in this van and started driving. Those two boys that were hiding you are being held in a Federal Prison in Nevada."

"What? Federal Pris–"

"We can't risk anyone finding out about you." I heard her snort loudly. "Not with the Bush Administration running things, anyways… They're fine, though."

I covered my mouth with a paw to stifle a giggle at the comment on our current president. Maybe she wasn't _that_ bad…

"And your abilities are restrained because we're all pretty aware of what you can do under enough stress."

My head snapped up, and I leaned closer to the air vent. "You do?"

"We've been in close contact with Satoshi Tajiri."

"Already? I've only been like this for–" I stopped myself in mid-sentence. "Hold up. You're admitting I'm a Pokémon?"

The agent chuckled dryly. "You're not the only one in the world with this problem."

"_I'M NOT?_" I screeched loudly, my voice cracking in distress.

This time, she laughed whole-heartedly. "Not at all. But that's all I can tell you, unless you want me to get fired." A pause followed this, and she continued, "Don't answer that. But anyways… Have you got a name?"

I smiled a bit. "Christine, from Omaha, Nebraska. Home of the legendary Husker football team and the best beef in the world."

"Nebraska? Interesting. I went to OKU. I believe we beat UNL…"

"…Last year. And the year before," I finished, rather dryly. I had basically memorized the track record of Nebraska's Division I football team for the past three years. "So, have _you_ got a name?"

"'Course I do. Agent Carolyn Williams; been with the ARFBI for about two years. Crazy job, I'm tellin' ya… Now, mind telling me exactly what happened? If… you don't mind, of course."

I nodded, and quickly summarized the events of the last 24 – 48 hours. I had no idea how she was reacting, considering there was a metal barrier between us, but it felt good to ramble on and on about what had happened. We continued casually talking about her job, my schooling, and just a little more 'small talk'. I imagined it was awkward for her, talking to a Pokémon, not to mention I learned her nephews were obsessed with the Anime. A smile tugged at my lips as I reminisced my days as a kid, plopping down in front of the television every Saturday morning.

After a fairly long conversation, she said, "All right, we're almost there. Just do whatever they tell you to and don't try to fight back, for your sake. Oh, and…" She seemed to be choosing her next words carefully, "…this conversation never happened. Try not to speak unless you're told to."

My face pulled into an upset frown at her words, slumping against the warm metal of the trunk. A few minutes later, the vehicle rolled to a stop. All was silent, save for the violent winds of Siberia that howled out in the subzero land. The trunk doors of the van were swung open, and several men in thick parkas suddenly reached for me. The move caught me off-guard, but I dared a desperate glance at Agent Williams. She almost looked sympathetic, but her warning against fighting the guards echoed in my mind. So I let them drag me out of the trunk and toss me roughly into a large steel cage.

"Hey! Careful with that!" Carolyn barked as one of the personnel slammed the door of my temporary prison shut. "Damn Russians… Probably still Communists…" she murmured. It was bad enough that it was probably -30°F out here, but I was also crammed in like some kind of animal.

Whispers in a foreign language were exchanged as the group of men in huge parkas carried me towards a looming building. I gazed up at the gleaming structure, which looked strangely similar to the Lied Jungle at the Henry Doorly Zoo back in Omaha. The only difference, though, was the fact that it was made entirely of metal (likely steel) and completely covered in snow. Oh, and there weren't tourists flooding in and out, munching popcorn and wielding stuffed animals of various creatures found in the zoo. Instead, at least 200 military officials in thick coats guarded the complex, each with a dangerous-looking machine gun slung across their backs. Why, though, was beyond me, considering you'd have to be an idiot to travel all the way out to Siberia.

_My God, what is this? Fort Knox?_ I thought, suddenly feeling as if I had assassinated the president or something to that effect. I kept glancing over desperately at Agent Williams, and once or twice I thought she had looked over at me. But I knew she had to remain loyal to her company, for her sake and mine.

The agents pushed through the front doors, me in tow, and into a lobby-like area. It was actually quite nice, being in a heated area, and it was similar to that of an ordinary lobby.

A quite regal-looking man stepped up to this, looking formal yet oddly polite. He was dressed in a double-breasted business suit, and had pale blonde hair and eyes the colour of ice. He nodded to the male agents, and the ones carrying my cage immediately set it down. He said something in Russian, and one of them handed over a key that I assumed could set me free. "Gentlemen," he said, in thickly accented English, "thank you. You are excused." The entire lot of them left at once. I was actually more than a bit impressed. Who were these guys, the Russian version of the 101st Airborne Paratroopers?

The official crouched down, surveying me inside the cage. His gaze was intense, but I kept my face as blank as possible. "Good work, Williams. This one appears to be in excellent condition, with the exception of the large bruise on the back of the cranium. Care to explain?"

Carolyn appeared slightly uneasy. "Agent Kruchvek hit her with the end of his rifle in order to sustain her, sir."

He nodded. "I… See…" An awkward moment of silence followed, and then he said, "Williams, you have referred to this creature as female. Might I ask how you came to such a conclusion?"

Her brow furrowed ever so vaguely. "Well, sir, the creature dons breasts. According to Tajiri, the original Myuutsuu did not. It was thought to be male."

"Very well. Does… 'she' understand Russian?"

"No, sir. We found her in Montana."

"_Another American…_" he muttered. "English?"

"As far as I know, sir."

The official cocked an eyebrow, perhaps slightly impressed, and turned back to me. "I am going to release you now, firstly because I would like to get a better look at you and secondly because I imagine it is quite uncomfortable in there. Now understand, you cannot escape. If you try, my men and women must resort to deadly force. Am I understood?"

I bobbed my head up and down obediently. With that, he unlocked the cage, opened the door, and I tumbled out gratefully. I picked myself up off the hard floor, standing and brushing a few melted snowflakes off of my fur. I searched the man with my eyes for some kind of identification; something that would give me a clue as to who he was. The Russian seemed strikingly familiar, as if I had seen his face somewhere before.

"You are taking this situation quite well," he complimented, and I shrugged, shuddering the slightest bit. His ice-blue eyes were as piercing as a switchblade, and the way he just kept staring at me was unnerving.

Agent Williams cleared her throat loudly, and his stare shifted to the African-American woman.

"Yes?"

"Sir, should you not at least introduce yourself?"

"Why? We are dealing with something that is not even an animal." I almost started at that, but instead merely scowled.

"I have reason to believe it has heightened mental capabilities that are well above those of an average animal. But merely a suggestion, sir," she explained, careful to add on the last sentence.

His expression hardened in annoyance at Carolyn's persistence, but hid his anger. Still, I could tell he was nearing his boiling point.

"Not that it will likely mean anything to you," he finally said, "but I am the President Vladimir Putin."

My eyes shot open wide, jaw dropping down.

Putin?

_Vladimir Putin?_

I felt my face grow warmer in a blush, and stood up straighter.

_My God,_ I thought, _I'm standing forty-eight inches from the leader of the largest country in the world!_


	6. Imprisoned!

**Chapter Six: Imprisoned!**

Vladimir Putin seemed to have not seen my sudden change in posture and expression, because he continued, "I am also the head of the ARFBI, which was created initially to ensure that another Cold War would not ensue. However, recently, we moved on to larger issues…

"When Al Gore lost the Presidential election of 2001, most communication was lost between my country and the United States. The Clinton Administration could no longer work with us directly. Either progress would slow, or we would be forced to show ourselves to the public. The latter, obviously, would certainly not work. Clinton and I had our differences, and yet…" The president stopped to shake his head. "Trying to reason with George W. Bush was insanity. Impossible. So William and I stayed in touch.

"Everything changed, however, in May of 2006, when one of our agents spotted an extremely odd creature. He captured it, thinking it to be a sort of project by the Americans, and took it to one of our headquarters.

"However, we were entirely mistaken. The oversized, pudgy yellow rat was, in fact, a… em…" He looked to Agent Williams. "What do you Americans call them, again?"

Her feet shifted slightly, altering her stern, authoritative position. "Pocket Monsters, sir. Or Pokémon, as they are more commonly known."

"Yes, exactly. We immediately contacted Satoshi Tajiri concerning the matter, but he insists he has had no hand in the phenomenon. I, however, have reason to think otherwise. He's the one who invented all 490-odd damn creatures…" Putin let out a heavy, frustrated sigh, and glanced at an expensive-looking watch on his wrist. "I have business to attend to. Williams, take this one to B-249. Second floor, to your right. Fourth side."

"Isn't there one already in 249, though?" she asked carefully, and my eyes grew larger yet. She had mentioned something earlier about 'others', but I hadn't known that she meant other Pokémon that were… here.

He froze in mid-step, turning on his heel to angrily face her. "…Are you _questioning_ my authority?" he hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. I half expected him to suddenly appear in a costume not unlike that of Dark Helmet from _Spaceballs_.

Vladimir Putin stepped right up to about six inches from her, and the agent's face lost all colour. "Carolyn Williams, I only hired you because you knew how to obey orders and we needed an American in our division. Now is not the time to act brass, but the time to do as I say. Act other wise and we may enter a _**third world war**_. Understand?"

"Y-yes, sir… Mister President."

He backed away from her, the cold fire still blazing in his eyes, and walked off without so much as another word. She exhaled loudly in relief, wiping a small bead of sweat from her forehead. It was now only she and I in the lobby, seeing as the Russian president had walked down another hall and out of sight. Agent Williams then turned to me, still noticeably shaken.

"Come on. Just make sure you follow behind me… Standard procedure. But consider yourself lucky. Usually we just haul your kind in with cages."

"Hey, uh, Miss Williams?"

She glanced back, and cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"You know who President Putin reminds me of?"

She chuckled. "Do I want to?"

"He reminds me of a guy on the Pokémon Anime named Giovanni. I swear, they could be twins."

She laughed, and quickly collected herself. "Well, just don't say that to his face. You're in a bad enough situation as is."

I followed her through the foyer and to a large metal door, looking similar to the entrance of a vault. She leaned into a small scanner, and a red light flashed over her eye. Moments later, several clicking noises sounded, and the door slid open mechanically.

She led me through a long, wide passage, and we passed by display after display. This place was almost identical to the animal displays at the zoo back in Omaha: Well-kept areas, polished, and made to look like the natural habitat of an animal. All were quite enormous in size, and I was impressed that something like this had been accomplished in a frozen desert.

But it wasn't the settings we strolled by that fascinated me.

It was things _inside_ that really caught my breath.

We passed Pokémon – real, living, breathing Pocket Monsters – of about fifty species and sizes. Many had scampered up to the glass edges of their habitats to take a good look at the newcomer. Most, I noticed, were gaping at me with both fear and disbelief.

"Uh… Miss Williams?"

"Yeah?"

"How often is a newcomer brought in?" I inquired, attempting a weak smile as a Grovyle and a Bulbasaur stared at me, their eyes following my every move.

"'bout once a week. But you seem to be getting a lot of attention."

"That doesn't make any sense, though. Mewtwo stayed isolated in a lab, then isolated on an island, and then isolated in the shadows his whole life. If anything, he was just an urban legend."

"Well, I'd stare too, if I was seeing a mutant cat thing with a tube coming out of its neck for the first time."

"Hey, the tube is Fuji's fault. A genetic mess-up."

The agent chuckled. "You sure know a lot about that Mewtwo fellow, huh?"

I swallowed hard as a ferocious-looking Typhlosion snarled at me, but no flames sparked from its neckline. I assumed it also bore an ability-restraining band. "Yeah, you could say that."

She finally stopped in front of one of the habitats, this one appearing to be a sub-tropical forest with a small cave. "Welcome home," she said, a bit of dry enthusiasm in her voice. Carolyn took out a card from her pocket, slid it through an electronic lock, and a glass door whizzed open. "There's actually another Pokémon in this one, but I can't remember for the life of me which one…"

I crawled through the opening, taking a better look at my new surroundings. The temperature and humidity had even been adjusted to give the area a feel like Florida.

"I'll try to see if I can check in at least every couple days, seeing as I've somehow grown attached to you, and I'll put in a good word for you. Oh, and…" She bit her lip in thought. "What do you eat?"

"Well, I prefer Italian and French cuisine, but I'll eat Japanese if that's all you've got."

She stared at me in absolute disbelief, and I laughed out loud.

"I'm just kidding. Anything seafood and anything that's not meat."

Carolyn offered a tiny smile, nodding. "I'll do my best," she said, after which she turned away and left, leaving me alone in the man-made jungle.

I wandered over to where the small cave was, sitting down on a fallen log. I lifted my head, staring up at the glass ceiling at lest 150 feet above me. It was certainly a nice habitat… That is, if you hadn't spent the previous 14 years living comfortably in an urban home setting. Sure, I loved camping, but at least we were always no more than four hours from home.

A shuffle in the artificial forest pulled me from thoughts. I slowly stood, sweeping the trees for any other sign of movement. After all, whoever my 'roommate' was wasn't guaranteed to be the nicest thing in the world.

An azure blur amongst the sea of brown and green flashed before me, and I tested. I was about to be living with a speed demon, and Mewtwo had relied on just psychic abilities for defense.

I currently had neither of the two at the moment.

Another loud shuffle sounded, this time from behind me, and I started to bolt, but then I was tackled roughly to the ground. Instinctively, my tail whipped furiously at whatever attack, throwing them off of me. I rolled over to see who my adversary was.

It was a furious-looking creature, appearing to be somewhat canine. The fur on its head, arms, and thighs was the same shade I had seen earlier, while its stomach, back, and chest were a pale lemon shade. Its paws and legs were either a dark navy or black, as were these strange extensions from its head. The most distinctive (and rather frightening) features, though, were the spikes – one from its chest and on the back of each forepaw.

I was dealing with a Lucario; one that clearly outmatched me physically.

The Aura Pokémon charged at me, and I rolled out of the way as it drove one of its lethal stakes into the ground near my head.

"What is your _problem_?" I exclaimed, getting to my feet and ducking as a punch was thrown my way. My words seemed to go in one ear of my foe and out the other. The Lucario planted a fast, hard kick in my gut, and I doubled over, biting back an outcry of pain. Next thing I knew, its foot was pinning me to the ground, a paw coiled back into a fist and ready to strike.

"Wait! I surrender! I… uh… _¡Yo vengo en paz!_" I pleaded, using my small knowledge of Spanish to tell it I came in peace.

The Lucario suddenly froze, its hazel eyes wide at the use of the Spanish expression.

"Uh… _¿Hablás Español?_"

To my surprise, it nodded.

"_¿De qué pais eres tú?"_ I ventured, asking what country the Lucario was from.

_I'm from Spain. I never learned any English, but now all I can use is telepathy,_ a feminine voice spoke into my mind. There was a slight Spanish accent to it, but that was all.

I blinked at the flawless demonstration of English. I knew telepathy was supposedly a universal language, yet she had just said she only spoke Spanish, but –

Did that mean she could still use her abilities?

Sure enough, though, on the Lucario's left wrist was a metal band, not unlike my own.

_Sorry I attacked you,_ she was continuing, _But I figured you would put up more of a fight than you did…_ She smirked, putting a paw out in front of me. After a second of hesitation, I grasped it with my own, and she helped pull me to my feet. _I'm Myria, by the way. You can understand me, right?_

I opened my mouth to say something, but I knew very little Spanish. If she was able to speak telepathically, though, the same went for me, right? I concentrated, and thought, _I don't exactly get how this could be working. Both of us have had our abilities restrained, and isn't telepathy an ability?_

Myria shrugged, brushing a few specks of dirt from her arm as if she hadn't viciously assaulted me sixty seconds prior. _I'm not complaining. For some reason, though, I can't communicate with humans when this stupid band is on. Who are you, anyways? Your Spanish is terrible._

I almost didn't reply in response to this insult, but she was right. I'd only taken two years of the language in school, and that was hardly any. _I'm Christine, from Nebraska, back in the States. So were you, like…_ I stopped momentarily to collect my thoughts. _Were you… human at one time?_

Her eyes flashed over to me. _And you care… why?_

_Maybe because I'd like to know I'm not the only one on this planet who was once human but is now the replica of a Pokémon. Except, female._

The Lucario seemed to chuckle at this. _All right, I'll admit it About six months ago, I just woke up, and I was like… this,_ she began, spreading her arms out. _Craziest thing ever. I mean, Lucario is one of my favourites, but… This was insane. All I did was sneak out of the house, run all the way to my friend's house outside of Madrid, and she took me in. I hid at her ranch for almost three months, practicing my abilities until I mastered them. And let me tell you…._ She sighed, a smile pulling across her long snout. _It was amazing. Then these strange agents somehow found me. The ones that work here, you know? I tried to fight them off, but I didn't want to kill anyone, and they put this metal band on. They dragged me here, and I've been in this damn cage ever since._ She turned to me. _But what about you? A female version of Myuutsuu… Now that's something._

_Well, strangely enough, I've only been like this for…_ I did a bit of math in my head, and continued, _…seventy-two hours._ I quickly summarized the past three days, and she looked pretty interested at the fact I made a Wii explode.

_And how'd you manage that feat?_

I shrugged. _"No sé,"_ I replied, and she snickered at my attempt of a foreign language again.

_Well, at least you can speak verbally in English. Maybe you can tell the feeders to stop tossing raw meat in here._ She made a gagging noise, imitating a stomachache, and we both giggled at that. _Well, since we're both going to be living here, I might as well show you the cave._ The Lucario gestured to me, heading in the direction of a small cavern.

We stepped into the cool grotto, and I admitted, I was impressed. Myria had constructed a hammock entirely of branches, twigs, grasses, and leaves, and had even attempted to decorate a bit by hanging a long line of flowers around the cavern.

_It's not much, but it works. Better than sleeping on the ground._

_You kidding me? This is fantastic, considering all you have to work with are a few things._

She shrugged indifferently. _Thanks, I guess. I tried. Creativity isn't really my thing. I do, however, know how to make a hammock, which is what I'm going to help you do right now._

My eyes lit up. _Really?_

_Really. And if you promise to try to talk the feeders into getting me some decent food around here, I'll help make it so you don't fall through in the middle of the night._

I had to smirk. She certainly knew how to bargain. _That I can do._

A few hours later, as the sky was beginning to darker, Myria and I say in the cave, tying together the grasses and plants for my soon-to-be hammock.

_And so José, being the little idiot of a brother he is, jams all five habañeros in his mouth! Can you believe that, Christine?_

I was giggling so insanely my eyes were starting to water. _Actually, I can. All right, you know those peppers people cook with to make spicy foods?_ The Lucario nodded, one eye on me and the other on her work. _Well, my aunt and uncle, and our parents all told my brother not to eat them, so what does Aaron do? He eats all of them – and refuses water afterwards. He had a stomachache the rest of the night, and I didn't _dare_ go in his bathroom for the next couple days!_

We continued our telepathic conversation until the hammock was finally complete. We hung it on two poles, crafted from large branches, next to Myria's, and called it a night. I slipped onto the makeshift bed, and let out a groan of delight. "Ugh… this is heaven," I mumbled, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Myria blink. _I said that this feels really nice._

_Oh. Yeah, no problem. After three months of being in this hellhole by myself, though, it was really nice to have someone to talk to. It's weird, meeting a Pokémon that could virtually take over the world, but you don't seem like the type._

I laughed, rolling over to a more comfortable position. _I can't even convince my parents to give me an allowance, so don't worry. I'm still trying to figure out how to move around in this body… I'm defenseless without my abilities._

_You don't have to be._

I turned my head slightly so I could see the Lucario's figure in her hammock. _Oh?_

_I could help train you. Get some muscle into that skinny body of yours. But for now, just try to get some sleep._

I nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to relax.

Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all. Before long, I had slipped into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.


	7. Training

_Up, up! Dear God, you're going to be asleep all day!_

These words and someone vigorously shaking my shoulder roused me from my peaceful sleep. I groaned loudly, curling up into a ball on the hammock, wrapping my tail around myself.

I heard Myria laugh, and she tugged on my foot. I jerked back, stifling a loud giggle. Apparently, I was still incredibly ticklish.

_"Vayas, perra fea… Estoy cansada…"_

_Oh, you think you're so smart, calling me an ugly dog? And I'm not going anywhere until you __**get up**__!_ She then proceeded to flip my hammock upside-down, and I screeched, falling to the cave floor with a thud. I simply lay there, curling up into a comfortable little ball again. When Myria didn't bug me again, I figured she'd given up, and I relaxed, too exhausted to bother getting back into the hammock.

My hopes were diminished, though, when I was all at once drenched with ice cold water. I bolted upright, gasping for breath and trying to get over the shock of ice water dumped straight onto my head. I rubbed the droplets from my eyes, blinking up at Myria, who was wielding a bucket.

_Knew stealing a bucket from the feeders would come in handy one of these days. And how nice of them to install a running stream._

_Yeah, how nice…_ I ignored her offer to help me up, and got to my feet. It didn't help the Lucario was actually a couple inches taller than me, but that made sense, since yesterday she informed me she was 17.

_Come on, now that you're up, we've got to start your training._

I yawned widely, stretching. _How about we take a nap first…_

She grabbed my wrist, practically dragging me out of our little sleeping area. _Are all you Americans this lazy?_

_For the most part._ With my free paw, I was rubbing sleep out of my eyes.

_Well, __**chica**__, that's all about to change._

_You move so slow! Stop thinking and just rely on your instincts!_

I twisted my body backwards as the Spanish Lucario sent a lightning-fast punch towards my face. _"¡Más despacio, por favor!"_ I panted, rolling over to the side as she attempted to nail me in the gut with her foot. _You're merciless!_

What could have passed as a laugh escaped her throat as she paused to let me get back on my feet. _Well, I have to admit, you're getting faster. Do you work out at all?_

_Not really, unless you count marching band and gym class in eighth grade._

_No sports?_

_Nope. However, we do a lot of marching -_

She rolled her eyes. _Yeah, yeah, figured that. Break's over; back to your training._ Myria looked me over for a moment, arms crossed over her chest. _You really weren't made for fighting… But we can both blame Satoshi Tajiri for that. It looks like your best bets will be your legs, and your tail can help you balance. You'll still need to gain speed, though._

I found myself nodding, despite the fact that I was growing more and more confused. _All right, but I'll just tell you now, I've never had the guts to throw a punch in my life._

She sighed heavily, hazel eyes rolling in disgust. _Look, the agents around here don't put up with crap, and neither should you. I can already see how nice you are, but we gotta fix that or else people'll take advantage of you. Besides, it's not so much fighting as it is… self-defense. Got it?_

I slowly bobbed my head up and down obediently. Myria was right, after all. I felt a pit in my stomach at the thought though. What if I was stuck like this forever? I'd never graduate, or even start, or go back home, or drive, or see Tanner or Aaron, or –

_Christine?_

I blinked, startled from my day mare. _Sorry. Thinking._

_Oh. All right. Should I show you that uppercut again?_

_Please._

_It's just one fast move, really. It's difficult to explain, so just watch._

She jumped up with one leg, and then kicked up high with the other, making a _swoosh_ as her foot cut through the air. The Lucario landed squarely on her feet like an old pro, straightening and looking back to me.

_An uppercut's useful if you're dealing with someone about your height. A little practice, and you should be able to get them right in the jaw._ She stepped back, offering a smile. _You try._

I stood awkwardly on the grass, trying to remember exactly how she had executed the move. With that image in mind, I jumped up high with one leg, and kicked out high with the other. My balance failed me, though, my left foot slipping as it touched the ground. My attempt to catch myself proved futile as I landed squarely on my tail. "AARGH!" I cried, teeth gritting together in pain.

_Are you okay?_

_Yeah… Just discovered that it hurts to land on your tail, though,_ I replied, groaning and pulling myself to my feet. _Okay, I think I can-_

_Hold up._ She held up a paw to stop me, eyes turned towards the door that kept us imprisoned. I followed her gaze, and sure enough, there was an agent at the door. It slid open with a mechanical whir, and I could now see that it was Agent Williams.

_Oh, hey, I know her! C'mon, I'll introduce,_ I exclaimed, grabbing her wrist.

_Hey, hey, what? Let go!_ Myria tore herself from my grip, scowling. _You know her, but I don't. As far as I can tell, these agent people are nothing but trouble. I don't trust her. And what's in that basket she's got? Could be a bomb, or a gun, or -_

_Myria, do you trust me?_

_Yeah. I suppose._

_Then come on!_ I grumbled in my mind, starting through the man-made jungle with the Lucario in tow.

The African-American agent smiled awkwardly as we approached. "Who's your blue friend?"

"This is Myria. She's a Lucario, for your information. She's from Spain, and is seventeen. And get this; she used to be human, too! Crazy, huh?"

She blinked, eyebrows raised. "You can speak to her?"

"Telepathically."

Williams blinked gain. "Uh… Hi. Er, _hola._"

Myria snickered at the woman's attempt at Spanish. _You Americans really are pathetic._

I repeated this to the agent, and she returned the smirk. "Ask her if she likes muffins."

_You like muffins?_

Her ears perked up, gaze shifting to the basket Carolyn was currently holding. When the agent merely shrugged, holding it out, Myria snatched what looked like a blueberry muffin from the basket. She then proceeded to jam half of it into her mouth, groaning in delight.

"You want one?"

"Not as much as her," I said, taking one for myself. "Where'd you get these, anyways?"

"Stole 'em from our breakfast lounge. And I thought your canine friend here was a carnivore."

"Nope. In fact, she said she's getting sick of the raw meat you guys keep throwing in here."

"Hey, it's usually the Russian guys who take care of this wing. I just came in because…" She stopped, then shrugged. "I guess it's just the fact that you're one of the only half-way sane beings in this building."

"What about President Putin?"

"He's mad."

I laughed at that, and when I relayed the message to Myria, she chuckled through her mouthful of muffin.

Carolyn sighed, glancing at her watch. "Better get going before I get in trouble. Take care, you two. And don't eat too many muffins or you'll get stomachaches."

I hesitated, and then shouted, "Wait!" before she stepped out of the door. The Oklahoma native paused to glance back. "Could you, uh… Possibly try to get in contact with my brother and Tanner?"

The agent frowned at my request. "What for?"

"Just to let them know I'm okay."

"You're asking a lot, Christine. I can't make any promises. But I'll try." She moved out of our area and back out to the hall, her boots tapping against its hard surface as she left.

_At least she left the muffins._

I then noticed she'd left the basket with us, and smiled. _So you admit she's not that bad?_

_The guys are worse. Let's get back to your training, though, okay? You need to practice that uppercut still. And it should keep your mind off of things._

I followed her back to the area we'd designated for training, and for once, was really glad she was there. I'd found a friend in someone who didn't speak my language, or grow up the same as me. But it was these crazy circumstances that had bonded us together, and that in itself was amazing.

Several hours of intense training later, Myria and I were back in the cave, seeing as it was rather difficult to practice in the dark. She hardly looked exhausted, while I was collapsed on the cold floor, still sweating.

_What? Need a bran muffin, old granny?_

_Shut up, Myria. I would sock you in the face, but every muscle in my body is throbbing._

The Lucario shrugged, leaning over to grab a muffin and tossed it to me. I lifted my hand to catch it, but instead the bakery item clonked me in the head.

_Nice catch,_ she chuckled sarcastically as I picked up the banana nut muffin and took a bit.

_Mind if I change the subject?_

_No. It's understandable that you want to get off the subject of pathetic American-ness._

_Hardy har-har. But seriously… How'd you get into Pokémon? I mean, you obviously didn't just all of the sudden know everything about it._

_I don't know. Got the game, and watched the Animé when it debuted in Spain. Later I got into writing fan-fics, most of them about this gurl who's a trainer. Funny thing is, her closest Pokémon in my most recent story happens to be a Lucario._

I was now gazing at her intently. _Huh. That's really strange, because quite a few of my fan-fiction pieces involve Mewtwo, and that's who I turned into._

Neither of us said anything, only stared at each other.

_You don't think that has anything to do with what's happened to us, though?_

_You got a better explanation?_

_Well…. I – Uh…_

_Didn't think so. So, I think - _

_Christine, can we just try to get some sleep? You can tell me tomorrow._

I paused, afraid I'd said too much. _Oh. Okay._

We both climbed into our hammocks, and I curled up again.

_And, you know, I was kidding about the whole 'stupid American' thing. You are pretty cool, actually._

"_Y tú,_" I complimented, shutting my eyes. "_Buenas noches._"

_Yeah. Good night._

The next few days were spent primarily on perfecting the few martial arts moves I'd been taught. Agent Williams had been leaving a small basket of food for us each morning, usually containing some sort of breakfast food. The feeders generally left something that looked similar to the food my dog ate, which wasn't all that bad, but quite tasteless. Occasionally Carolyn would leave a small note updating me on Aaron and Tanner, which was always a pleasant surprise. Apparently my brother complained about the lack of decent coffee at the New Mexican federal prison. She couldn't tell me much more, but insisted they were being kept there for their sake – and mine.

On the seventh day, though, she approached our glass cage, armed with a rifle across her back and a Taser on her belt. As I jogged over to meet her at the entrance, I took notice of the weaponry.

"Uh… What's this? What's wrong?"

By now, Myria had also joined me, seeming to be scanning the agent with her eyes.

"Myria, get out of the way," she said, her voice oddly cold and unemotional. We tensed simultaneously, my friend only standing more firmly on the ground. "I said _move it._ I need to deal with Christine."

_What's she saying?_

_Stand back,_ I replied shakily as Agent Williams moved the rifle to her hands, positioned to cock it. _Seriously, girl._

The Lucario growled under her breath, but took a step backwards.

_"Perra Buena,"_ the agent mumbled, gesturing with her hand. Two men, one Russian and the other American, also entered, armed with similar weaponry. They each grabbed one of my arms, and I let out a choked gasp.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I screeched, attempting to shake the American off. When neither of the three agents replied, I growled at whipped my tail out at them. Myria took the cue and lunged at the Russian, but was halted in her onslaught when he used a Taser on her. My friend collapsed to the ground, a high groan escaping her throat.

"Leave her alone!" I executed a (for once) flawless uppercut, catching the American in the gut. He doubled over, and I sprinted away, eyes glued to the exit.

"Catch her, you piteous excuses for agents!" Carolyn shouted, mumbling curses under her breath. She tackled me to the ground, pulling out her Taser while avoiding my desperate kicks and punches. "I really am sorry about this, Christine." Before I could utter so much as a word, a blood-curdling shock exploded throughout my body. My every vein felt like it was on fire, as if ready to explode at any given moment. The pain was immense; unbearable, and then it was…

Gone.

The world went black as I gladly slipped into unconsciousness.


	8. Discovery of a Deity

((Hee-hee, I was day-dreaming the other day, and got a really, really weird idea

**Chapter Eight: Discovery of a Deity**

"Christine…"

I winced as the words floated past my ear. The voice seemed familiar, but who did it belong to?

"Christine, it's Carolyn. Are you all right?"

My eyes flashed open as the most recent events flooded my memory. "You betrayed me and Myria both! I thought I could trust you! What happened-"

The agent's hand flew to cover my mouth, and she looked paranoid. "Shut up before we both get in trouble," she hissed.

I moved to smack her hand away, but then realized that I couldn't. I scanned over myself, noting the fact that my arms, legs, and midsection were all tied down to a chair. 'All right, first you Taser me, and now I'm being kept hostage?"

"Would you shut up and bear with me for a moment?! And, would you have rather I had used the sedative Putin _told_ me to use? Because that thing has some effects not so different from methamphetamine."

I shifted in the chair, still scowling.

"Didn't think so. Now, I really am sorry about the whole Taser thing because I know how much it hurts. However, you did execute a flawless scissor kick."

My glare softened slightly. "But why didn't you tell me what was going on? Why can't you now?"

"Easy. I was being watched by those two brainless dolts. They're like Putin's pets, I swear," she mumbled with an air of disgust. "And I was getting there, if you could keep that snout of yours closed for ten seconds.

"There's this guy, I guess he's the mastermind behind Pokémon; his name's Satoshi Tajiri, and-"

I nearly jumped out of my seat in excitement. "I know! I know! He was born in Japan in 1963, and he loved nature, and animals, and so he-"

"Let me finish!" the agent exclaimed, clearly frustrated. "…And we can't get him to tell anyone anything. He claims he has no idea what's going on, but we figure that you might be able to get something from him."

I was beaming now. "So, I actually get to talk with him? Like, face-to-face?"

"Well, yeah." She chuckled. "And we were all worried you wouldn't talk to him…"

"I need paper. And a pen." Carolyn stared at me. "Either untie me or get some! I need his autograph!"

"I'm not going to get you paper just so can get his…"

"_Ahem._"

She quickly bolted to her feet at the sound of a male clearing his throat, standing straight and tall. Vladimir Putin, followed by two agents who were leading a Japanese man, probably in his mid-forties, stepped in to join us in the small, office-like area. The Japanese man looked older than in the photo I'd seen on the internet, but he was, without a doubt, Satoshi Tajiri. He was handcuffed, though why, I didn't know. The Japanese mastermind looked weary enough to be lying on his deathbed, yet also rather upset. I twitched in the stiff wooden chair, my pulse quickening.

"Williams, leave us," Putin ordered, and she looked at me once more before heading out. The Russian President approached me, kneeling down so we were eye-to-eye. "Listen, creature, and listen well," he began, his thickly accented voice more spine tingling than ever. "If you were unaware, the man we have here with us is an international figure. If anything happens to him, the media will noticed, and the entire A-RFBI will come crashing down – the lot of your kind included. Get information from him, tell him what you know, nothing more, and nothing less." He broke the intense gaze to signal to the agents behind him, uttering a command in Russian. They uncuffed Satoshi Tajiri, who winced, rubbing his wrists.

"I wish to speak to her alone."

The president's icy eyes darkened at this request, but he nodded. Another gesture, a word, and the three left. When the door closed, I let out a deep breath I'd been holding, beaming at the only other living being left in the room.

"Mister Tajiri, wow, I can't believe I'm actually meeting you in real life. This is, like, unreal. I've loved Pokémon ever since it debuted in America, and-"

"You know who I am?" he cut off, staring at me wide-eyed. Satoshi grabbed a chair, sitting directly opposite me at the desk.

I laughed nervously as his eyes traveled over my body. "Well, yeah. You're the guy behind the whole Pocket Monsters phenomenon. I read a couple articles about you online."

He blinked, settling back in his chair. "I do not think you realize how strange this is for me. I am in the middle of Siberia, speaking with… a Pokémon."

"Hmph. Try being one." When he didn't speak, I continued, "Hey, uh… How did you know I was female?"

He shrugged. "It was quite easy to tell. The brow line is not as thick, your eyes are slightly wider, and the figure is overall more feminine."

"But Myuutsu wasn't designed as female, was it… er, he?"

He shook his head. "The eye colour, though, strikes me as different."

"Oh, well, you see, my eyes are the same as they were when I was human." Satoshi's interest perked ten-fold at the 'when I was human' part. "No one told you."

"No. I do not even know your name."

"Well, I'm Christine. I'm from the States. I would shake your hand or something, but I'm a little tied up at the moment."

"I can see that. Christine, then, could you… elaborate on your previous statement?"

Once again, I spilled out my entire journey from waking up in a different body, teleporting off to Montana with my brother, getting dragged off to here, and finally meeting Myria.

"But get this: We're both writers. I've used Mewtwo in some fan fiction, and she Lucario."

His eyes grew wider yet, and he inhaled sharply. "And you both simply… Woke up as you are now? At different times, without any sort of warning?"

"Exactly. Do you think the fact that we're writers has anything to do with it?"

He looked both very nervous and excited at the same time. "Has the A-RFBI told you anything about how this all began?"

"Not really. President Putin said something about them finding a Pikachu first."

"He lied to you."

"Wha-what?!" I stammered, leaning forward as far as I could against the restraints.

Mr. Tajiri's voice suddenly became very quiet, almost to the point of a whisper. 'That Pikachu was the second Pocket Monster Putin's men found. The first was more powerful than you or I can even imagine. Christine, they captured the deity of space…

"Palkia."

"P-Palkia?!" I exclaimed, my eyes huge. "Doesn't Palkia have the power to, like, destroy countries and stuff?"

Satoshi Tajiri nodded. "Palkia was discovered in the Austrian Alps by two French Tourists. Luckily, I must say, the A-RFBI received notice of its presence before the American press. They were able to restrain its abilities with technology similar to what restrains yours. How the legendary appeared in our world, I honestly do not know…"

"Where is Palkia now?" I ventured, a pit forming in my stomach. I didn't know much about the fourth generation of Pokémon, but I did know that the power of some legendaries was… Well, legendary.

"Not to far from here. In this very facility, I believe. Unfortunately, I have not been permitted to view Palkia, much less communicate with it."

I hesitated, and then said, "Maybe I could try to get a word with it. I can use telepathy with other Pokémon, even with the band on."

He swallowed nervously, shaking his head. "An atrocious idea, young American. I am doubtful it would recognize you, considering Myuutsu was not exactly the most… Social of Pokémon, and only around for twenty years at most. You must remember, Parukia and Diaruga have been around as long as Aruseus. Most legendaries do not adjust to new situations and new faces easily."

"I've got to try, though! If this thing doesn't get solved, I could be stuck looking like a mutant cat with a tube comin' outta the back of my head forever!"

"More like a splice," he corrected, starting to look more distressed with every passing moment.

I sighed, hanging my head before making eye contact with the Japanese man. "Look, some kids dream about becoming a Pokémon. It's their wildest fantasy. I'm telling you right now, I am not one of those people. I was perfectly happy being a Plain Jane 14-year-old girl, and everything was just fine until last Wednesday."

We sat in silence for a long moment, and he finally said, "I will do what I can. Understand, though, that you are only digging your own grave by going through with this."

"I realize that, Mr. Tajiri. What if, though, we get a Lugia wrapped up in this mess? Or one of the Regis? If terrorists harness that kind of power, we'll be entering a third world war. Then we'll all be dead." When he didn't reply, I chewed my lip, thinking it over. "So it's settled? You'll try to get me in to talk to Palkia, and I'll figure out what the heck's going on."

Satoshi nodded, standing. "I'll let them know we're done."

Moments later, he disappeared out the door, and Agent Williams came in, followed by two agents – both who looked American. They were staring at me. I could feel it.

"Hey, dudes, this isn't X-Files. Quit staring, for God's sake," I practically screeched, and the two men quickly averted their gaze elsewhere.

The scary part was, though, that I had to stop this thought from coming into my head:

_Gosh, humans are annoying._

Mainly, because I _was_ human, on the inside, at least.

And that was something I was planning to hold onto.

Half an hour later, I was back in what Myria and I had started calling 'The Habitat', discussing my conversation Mr. Tajiri. The Lucario's hazel eyes seemed to grow larger with every word I spoke.

_So you seriously got to talk to Satoshi Tajiri?_ When I nodded, she just chuckled and shook her head. _You are one lucky girl. But… about Palkia…_ The 17-year-old Spaniard gave off an involuntary shudder. _That is creepy. Oh, and you're crazy. Did I mention that?_

_Only about ten times…_ I replied sourly, making a face at her. _Besides, I doubt it will even go through. The request, I mean. I couldn't even give Putin much valuable information._

_So? I'm pretty sure he's sick of us all. He'd probably do just about anything to get us off his back._

_Okay, so let's say the request _does_ go through. I mean, how do you greet a God?!_

Myria shrugged her shoulders. _I don't know. Come on, you've got the body of one of the greatest minds in the Pokémon world._ She leaned over, flashing a grin and slugging me in the shoulder. _Think of something. Act humble. Bow low, and make it clear that Palkia's the one with the upper hand._

_Oh… I kinda forgot to mention… They've got him… it… whatever… restrained, like you and I._

She suddenly choked, couging and gasping for air. Beneath the fur on her face, I could see she was considerably paler. _Christine, do you realize how _INSANE_ this is?! Palkia controls all of space. _All_ of it. What if Dialga flips out and ends up here, too? This is _real_. There's going to be an international crisis if you – we, really – can't free Palkia. This is proof there really is a Pokémon world… Who knows what kind of crisis they're going through?_

We sat there, eyes locked until I finally sighed. _All right. But if Mr. Tajiri - _

_No, no, no! You've got to do this even if it means we have to break you out in the middle of the night._

I felt a pit form in my stomach. _Myria, I can't do this. I can't; I just can't,_ I protested, burying my face in my paws.

She rested her paws on my shoulders, clearing her throat. I lifted my face to look into her deep eyes, and seeing the fierce determination there lifted my spirits. _Christine, you can do this. You _will_ do this. Hate to put the pressure on, but you're the only one who can communicate with humans with the band still on. We're counting on you. And, they don't know it, but the world's counting on you. But don't worry, I'm here for ya the whole way. And together, we're going to figure out what's going on and how to get back to our human bodies and our mediocre lives. Okay?_

I allowed a smile, nodding. A grin pulled across her snout as she patted my shoulders again.

_I'd give you a hug, but I'd probably kill you in the process. So, I owe you a hug when I get back in my body._

_All right, I'm quoting you on that!_

An electronic whir distracted both of us, though, and we stood to see who was at the door. I noticed a sour look flash over Myria's face as Agent Williams stepped in, wielding a basket. The woman looked up, pointed at me, and gestured to approach her. When I did, she mumbled, "Your friend all right?"

"I think she's still mad at you after yesterday's incident."

She smirked, pulling out a cell phone. "Hm. Maybe she'll bee able to forgive me for the incident yesterday. Anyways…" She dialed in a number, and my attention perked. "…This is Williams, from zone three nine oh. Get the two Montanans on line… What? No, just do what I said! Don't question me!" Grumbling curses, she tossed the cellular device to me. "You've got twenty minutes. Knock yourself out."

I blinked, putting the cell phone up to my ear. "He-hello?"

"CHRISTINE! OH MY GOD! Where are you?! Are you in Malibu? Or some sunny resort? 'Cause if you are, Tanner owes me twenty bucks!"

I was laughing openly, delighted by the sound of my brother's voice. "Aaron! I'm – uh… I'm in Siberia. It's really cold."

"TOLD YOU!" came Tanner's voice in the background.

"Hey, put it on speakerphone. I wanna talk to both of ya." A click, and so I continued, "Where the heck are you guys?"

"We're at that place where they hide the _aliens!_"

"Aaron, shut up. But… yerah. We're in New Mexico. Turns out Area 51 is actually a place where they had people who know top secret information. Your brother keeps demanding Starbucks…" At this, I smacked my free paw against my face. "…but it's not too bad."

"What about our parents?"

"This one dude told Mom and Dad," my brother replied, "but I haven't seen them. Same thing with Tanner's parents."

"Okay, guys, especially Tanner, listen up. This is, like, hug. All right, get this: They captured _Palkia_."

"P-PALKIA!?" Tanner's normally deep, almost baritone, voice had cracked considerably, making the word come across as a screech.

"Is that a Pokémon or something?"

"YES!" my friend and I screamed at Aaron simultaneously.

"Palkia's the god of space! He's one of the most powerful creatures in the entire Pokémon universe!" Tanner was explaining excitedly. "My God… This is crazy…"

"Oh, oh, and this Lucario I met, her name's Myria, and she used to be human, too."

"A what?" I could clearly picture my brother's blank, confused face, his brow probably furrowed a tiny bit.

"I'll explain later, Aaron… That makes so much _sense_ now!"

I pressed the cell phone even closer to my ear-like horn. "Tell. Now. I got limited time."

"Okay, so, I'm guessing your powers are restrained?"

I blinked in surprise. "Uh, yeah. Mine, Myria's; everyone's."

"And Palkia's?"

"Somehow."

"My theory is that Palkia somehow because trapped in our world, and when they found him, they would've immediately restrained its abilities. This caused a flux in space, and _BAM!_ People start getting their bodies all switched and such."

"That doesn't-"

"-make any sense. I know. Look, Christine, you _have_ to face that legendary. On good terms with any agents?"

"Uh, yeah, there's this one gal-"

"Good, good. She's gonna be your key."

"Did you seriously plan this all out?"

"Aaron and I spend all day in a metal-and-concrete box. Got to do something."

"So, about this Myria chick…" This came from Aaron, Mr. Can't-stay-on-topic-for-more-than-five-seconds, "What's she like?"

"Uh… Nice. Athletic. Kinda tough."

"Does she have _boobs_ like you?"

"_**AARON!!**_"

A loud slap followed Tanner's outcry.

"Er…. Yeah, she does, actually." I laughed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Uh, Tanner?"

"Yes…?"

"Approximately how powerful is Palkia?"

He hesitated, the answered, "Probably as powerful as Lugia and Mewtwo combined."

"Is he sociable?"

"Doubt it. I'm assuming most of the original legendaries don't really like the idea of humans, but I guess you might be okay…" A long pause, and Tanner blurted, "Don't underestimate Palkia. He's probably way more powerful than you or I can ever imagine."

"Okay…"

"Christine, I'm serious! _Do. Not. Underestimate. Him._"

"I got it! I won't." I glanced at Carolyn, who was waiting rather impatiently. "Guys, I gotta hang up. Hopefully I can call again sometime."

"Aw…" Aaron moaned, and I giggled.

"Okay, bye," was all Tanner mumbled, but he sounded fairly pained.

"All right." I bit my lip, thinking of what to say. "Thanks, you two… For everything. Love ya guys. 'Bye!"

I snapped the cell shut, and tossed it back to the A-RFBI agent.

"Enjoy your chat?" she asked, stuffing it back into her pocket.

"I did. Thanks."

"Lucky for you, I've got more good news."

My eyes widened at these words. "Oh?"

"Yeah. That Satoshi guy asked Putin about you going in and having a word with that Polkia or whatever the thing's name is. I think the President's getting desperate, because he almost immediately agreed to let you go in tomorrow evening."

My stomach fluttered out of both excitement and nervousness. "Really? That's – that's fantastic! But, uh… just one problem."

"What?"

"I wasn't planning on going in just to have a chat with Palkia."

Her glimmer of a smile disappeared. "Oh. You weren't, were you."

"Er… no," I said slowly. 'We need to free Palkia. Problem is…

"Were going to need an agent to help us."

Agent Williams stared at me. "And by 'an agent', you mean… me."

"Yup."

She sighed heavily. "Putin and Clinton both are gonna maul me for this…" The African-American woman crossed her arms.

"All right, I'm in."

Myria and I exchanged smiles.

This was going so far, so good.


	9. Planning a Rescue

**Chapter Nine: Planning a Rescue**

After summarizing/translating the past half hour for Myria, she glanced up suspiciously at Agent Williams. _Tell her I hope she's really with us._

I did, and the woman shrugged. "I've got nothing to lose." Carolyn clapped her hands together, taking a seat on the grass near us. "So, what's the plan?"

_I actually had a decent idea,_ Myria spoke up after getting my translation. _Christine, be ready to relay… First, we need to get Christine into wherever they're holding Palkia. Problem is, we need to make sure she's all-alone with him… it. We can't risk any agents peeking in on them._

The agent nodded. "That can be arranged."

_Secondly, we're going to need to somehow deactivate her wristband._

"¡¿Que?" I cried, at the same time Carolyn shouted, "You're _insane_!"

The Lucario put a paw up to shush us. _Let me finish! After a few minutes, we'll need a big distraction._

"Easy. We'll use a fire alarm. Not only does it get everyone away, but also opens all the caged areas."

_Excellent. At that moment, Christine, you need to blast any restraints off of Palkia's body._

"_Blast?_" Carolyn laughed, snickering. "Not needed. Palkia's held down differently. It's just got a metal collar around the neck and a tiny microchip implanted near the left shoulder."

I was surprised, but glad. "Handy. How do you get the collar off?"

"A secret code."

"Well, what's the code?"

"I don't know."

I told Myria this, and she groaned. _Is she _sure_ she doesn't know?_

"You sure?"

"Positive. Heard rumours that Putin's the only one who knows the password. However… I suppose you could try blasting the keypad with whatever weird psychokinetic powers you've got."

_So you can definitely turn off her band?_

Agent Williams nodded. "Hope you remember how to use your abilities. I'm going to have to sneak into the control room tonight, but don't give off any sort of impression you've got them back until you get in there. Even then, wait until I pull the alarm."

I nodded. Turning back to Myria, I asked, _All right, say that all goes peachy. What after that?_

The Lucario grinned, her canines exposing. _This is where timing is everything. Well, actually…_ She paused, a surprised look passing over her face. _After that, I have no idea. I guess we'll just improvise._

After telling this news to our agent accomplice, Carolyn suddenly looked very worried. "_Improvise?_"

_Hey, only Palkia knows what happened and how to fix it._

"You didn't plan this very well."

_Well, have _YOU_ got a better plan?_

The two females were now to their feet, fists clenched and teeth bore.

"Hey! Guys! With any luck, this'll all be over tomorrow night. Miss Williams, Myria, just try to cooperate for the next thirty hours. So kiss and make up." When they stared at me, there was a moment of awkward silence. Then I realized what I'd said, and we all started cracking up laughing. "Oh, you know what I mean!"

Agent Williams slipped her phone out of her pocket, glancing at the time. "I better get going before the Commies start looking into me. Help yourselves to the bagels, and Christine…"

"Yeah?"

"You should feel the band shut off shortly after nightfall. If I don't get to you two tomorrow… Good luck."

We nodded our thanks, and I say back. _Whew. You have no idea how tiring it is to translate English to telepathy and vice versa._

Myria chuckled under her breath. _You'd better rest up. Got a big day tomorrow._

_It's only like four!_

_Christine, either go sleep or I'll chase you around with a large pointy stick again_

I shuddered at the memory of one of our recent training sessions, which was to build "speed and leg strength," as the Lucario had put it. _Okay, okay, I'll choose the hammock,_ I surrendered with a laugh. When I started walking away and followed, I asked, _Uh… what are you doing?_

_I'm allowed to take a little catnap, too, aren't I?_

_Well, yeah, except… I'm the feline around here,_ I teased, sticking my tongue out at her.

Myria rolled her eyes. _Oh, what_ever_. More like a mutant cat thing with a tube coming out of the back of its head._

_HEY. Don't make fun of my tube,_ I scolded, running into our cavern and leaping into my hammock. _At least I can hug people without driving a six-inch spike into their chest._

She grabbed a side of my suspended bed, turning it so I nearly slipped off. I squealed, gripping one of the suspension poles with my tail and the sides of the hammock with my paws.

_You want to take that back?_

_Not really._

The Spaniard titled the hammock further, and I shouted, "_¡Okey, okey! ¡Lo siento!_"

A smug smile on her face, she let go, and headed over to her own. _Apology accepted, my terrible-at-speaking-Spanish American friend._

_You're never going to get over my mutilation of your native language, are you?_

_I will when you stop saying the words in your American accent… Or, lack of any sort, actually._

_It's the blessing of Nebraskans,_ I answered with a chuckle. _No accent._

_Do I have one?_

_Even though it's through telepathy, yeah, a little. Kinda like my Spanish teacher._

_Oh._ I heard her shuffle, and then, more quietly, _Christine?_

_Yeah?_

_I really hope tomorrow goes well._

_Me too._

_I thought I'd never say this, but I really miss my mum and dad…And even my little brother, who shoves habañeras in his mouth. But Christine…_

_What?_

_Oh, God, this is so mushy and pathetic,_ she moaned, a cackle of laughter coming from her hammock.

_No, no, just tell me. It's all right._

_Heheh… I was just going to say… Thanks for everything. These past couple of weeks, I mean. You've been like a sister to me._ Myria then chortled dryly. _Kind of crazy that it took getting turned into Pokémon for us to meet, huh?_

_Crazy? Nah…_ Even through the semi-darkness, I could see the look of puzzlement cross her face. _INSANE is more like it._

We both burst into laughter at this.

_But seriously, Christine… I'm happy we met. So whatever happens tomorrow, just know that._

_Okay. I'm gonna sleep now…_

_Oh, one more thing._

I rolled my eyes. _What?_

_Wake me up when you get your powers back._

_…Why?_

She merely smiled. _You'll find out when it happens. Now get some shut-eye._

A little nervous at the prospect of her idea, I rolled over, curling up in the hammock. But the thought of seeing Aaron and Tanner once again made my determination spike up, and I fell asleep thinking of the two guys I cared about the most – my brother, of course, because he'd always been there for me. Also, there was tanner, who'd taken in two crazy runaways (one which blew up his Wii) and tried to defend them both. I owed those two… so much.

_About six hours later…_

I bolted awake at the sensation of a huge lightning bolt streaking through me. A gasp choked my already ragged breathing as power ran through my veins like fire to gasoline. My eyes swept to the band on my wrist, which was glowing an eerie cyan colour. It was exhilarating; even exciting to have the familiar psychic energy pulsing through my body once again. The glow of the band faded, but thankfully, the feeling didn't.

I rolled out of my hammock, unable to suppress a tiny squeal. Clambering over to Myria, I shook her awake, probably a little too roughly.

_Un… Christine?_ the Spaniard drawled, hazel eyes peeking open. _You got your abilities back?_

_Heck, yeah! And you know what else? Christine's bringing Psychic back!_

Myria sat up, rolling out of her hammock and flashing a toothy grin. _You know what that means,_ she said, starting to head into a more open area of the cavern.

_…What?_

_You, my friend, are about to embark on the fastest training course ever._

I stared at her. _You're not even a Psychic-type!_

_All right, then. Demonstrate for me an Aura Sphere._

_Aura _what_?_

The Lucario rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. _My point exactly. Now, I can't demonstrate, unfortunately, but maybe I could lead you through. First, spread your paws apart like… this,_ she explained, positioning so it kind of looked like she was holding a basketball, but her wrists were somewhat close. I copied, and Myria nodded. _Good. Now, the difference between Aura Sphere and Shadowball is that instead of using your psychic energy so much, it's more like… your life force._

I blinked. _Like in Star Wars?_

_Isn't that some movie by George Lucas? Anyways… Yeah, I suppose,_ she answered with a chuckle. _It's kind of hard to explain, so… close your eyes. Concentrate on transferring all that life force to the void between your palms._

I did, and felt my muscles tense. No way this was this tricky…

_You're trying too hard, Christine. Relax._

Starting to become increasingly frustrated, I made an attempt to calm down. I focused on that void, and pretty soon I could feel a pulse between my paws. I dared a peek, and sure enough, there was a tennis-ball sized orb between my paws. I pushed more into it, and the orb grew.

Myria actually looked impressed. _Wow. Nice. You're a quick learner._

The Aura Sphere faded (making it hit something and create an explosion was a stupid idea), and I looked at her. _Really?_

_That… That Aura Sphere is a level 100 move for Mewtwo on Diamond,_ she admitted. _So, yeah. Took me three hours to get one the size of a softball, and I'm _the_ Aura Pokémon._

A blush rose to my cheeks. I started to thank her, but the 17-year-old cut me off. _How developed is your telekinesis?_

"Uh…" I thought aloud.

_Not very much, I assume._

_I can fly!_ I protested, and to prove it, I rose a foot off the ground.

She tilted her head as if bored. _Okay, so you can lift yourself. Now get down here._

Reluctantly, I landed, resisting the urge to blow a raspberry at her.

_Try lifting that basket,_ she instructed, eyes shifting to the basket with a few stale bagels in it. I reached out with my mind, taking aim and gently lifting the basket. It shone with a sort of psychic blue aura, which didn't surprise me, but was still rather… weird. Just to prove myself to her, I mentally lifted a bagel and chucked it at her face. She let out a yelp, ducking as the cream-cheese covered item flew over her head and smacked into the cave wall. Much to my amusement, it stuck, but my giggling caused the basket to drop.

_At least you know how to use telekinesis… Now how about that Shadowball? It should be considerably easier to pull off than that Aura Sphere._

I nodded thankfully remembering how to pull it off. After just a couple seconds, a black sphere was sparking between my paws.

_Make it bigger._

A frown crossed my face, but I complied. I charged the Shadowball further, having to lengthen the distance between my paws.

_You know how to fling it?_

I shrugged. _Yeah, just move it to a paw and throw._ I let the sphere of energy collapse, looking to Myria again.

_The rest of the stuff; Psybeams, making things explode; you'll have to figure out on the spot. But everything runs on instinct, I've noticed, so rely on that._

_Right,_ I agreed, and she patted me on the shoulder.

_I think you're good to go now. Remember: Instincts and confidence. And you gotta go fast. Once that alarm is pulled, I'll corral all our little Pokémon groupies and you take care of Palkia. Speed is key. For now, though, try to get some sleep._

We both laid in our hammocks, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep. Tomorrow was it. Tomorrow was the day I had the chance to either save us all or fail miserably.

I sure hoped for the former.

_Roughly eight hours later…_

Sunlight peeked into our cave-like living space, its golden fingers caressing the grotto in soft light. My eyes cracked open, the psychokinetic energy still pulsing warmly through my system. I rolled over; Myria was still fast asleep, but every few moments her nose would twitch. The prospect of what was to come almost saddened me… What if I never saw my Spanish friend again?

_Christine, stop it,_ I scolded myself. _You'll be human, so will she, and everything will be great._

Still, though, I was going to miss flying.

_But you'll never fly if you don't break out…_

Shaking my head to move away the troublesome thoughts, I rolled out of my hammock. Just as I was stepping out of the small grotto, a loud screech averted my attention. I sprinted through the grass and trees (I'd gotten to be a fast runner thanks to Myria's training), stopping at the glass. Taking a peek down the hall, I took in a sharp breath at what was currently being hauled down the hall.

"Articuno…" came my whisper, my eyes huge.

Five A-RFBI agents were attempting to drag the over five-and-a-half-foot tall bird to what I assumed was another habitat. The Titan of Ice screeched again in frustration, phasing at least three of the agents. One of the agents swore at he legendary ice-flying type in Russian, whapping it across the beak. The Articuno replied to this outburst by violently attempting to rake the man's gut out, its dark brown eyes burning with rage. I wondered why it didn't just fly away, and noticed a few restraints on the avian's body. The first was a series of ropes binding the Articuno's bright, sky-blue wings to its back. The second was the all-too-familiar metal band, clipped around its leg.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, just tranquilize the stupid bird!" one of the females grumbled. She pulled out a syringe, and the Articuno instantly started to panic.

"Calm down!" the agent yelled, face full of fright. However, approaching the blue-and-white feathered creature only alarmed it further. "Hold that thing down," she ordered, and all five of the other agents made a move to restrain the Articuno. In one swift move, the American stuck the syringe in, and a beat later the great bird went limp.

That one agent then looked towards me, lingering for a moment. She then whispered something into a man's ear, and he nodded, taking off briskly down the hall.

_Holy Mary Mother of Jesus, is that Articuno?_

I jumped at Myria's voice echoing in my mind, interrupting my thoughts. One quick glance back told me she was just behind me, and she joined me at the window.

_Yeah, yeah it is,_ I replied, watching as they hoisted up the giant bird. _Wonder where it's from…_

_I don't know. Anywhere where they've heard of Pokémon, I guess._

I continued watching as they carried the 122-pound bird two habitats to the left of mine, and across the hallway. It appeared to look like a chunk out of the Arctic Circle, or at least the closest thing to that.

_Maybe I should teleport over there and say hi…_

The Lucario shook her head, eyes narrowing at me. _Christine, I wouldn't do that if I were you._

_And why ever not?_ I protested, scowling at her.

_Well, maybe because the President of Russia is heading this way right now._

I blinked in alarm, turning to the window again. Sure enough, there was Vladimir Putin, on his way down the hall, his ice blue eyes locked onto our habitat. With him were Agent Williams and a couple other people, the others appearing Russian.

He stopped at our door, swiping a card key over the device that acted as a deadbolt, and the door slid open with a _whoosh_. The president looked around, the agents with him following suit, and spotted the two of us still by the window. "You," he said, pointing a finger at me, "come here." Quickly (but albeit reluctantly), I crossed over to where he was, biting my lip in nervous anticipation.

"Something has… come up," the middle-aged Russian explained, his gaze almost creepily unblinking. "With the capture of a rather powerful Pocket Monster which we found in China, it seems we will need you to find out what is going on sooner than later. Thus, due to such circumstances, I am sending you in to speak with…"

"Palkia," I finished, and he nodded.

"…Yes, 'Palkia', right now. You have no time limit on how long it takes to get information, but it would be greatly appreciated if you did so as quickly and efficiently as possible."

I nodded obediently, trying to ignore his scrutinizing stare.

Putin's eyebrows rose at this, perhaps pleased with my cooperation. "Very well, then. Come along," he said shortly, gesturing with a hand and exiting our glass cage. I took one desperate look back at Myria, and she offered a reassuring smile.

_Good luck. And remember: Stick to the plan._

I gave a nod to her silent suggestion, following the president out into the hallway.

The next couple minutes were probably going to decide the fates of at least fifty others living on this planet.


	10. The Rescue

_**Author's Note:**__All right! Hoorah! This fanfic is.. ALIVE! Amazing, no, how after nearly two years of not working on it, Switched Identities has returned? Well, it has, and this author wants you to read, review, and above all, enjoy! It's back for good this time. _

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_**Chapter 10: The Rescue**_

A thousand thoughts were wracking my mind as two Russian agents led me down the hall, Putin in front of us. Carolyn was at the back of our entourage, and every so often I would glance back at the American, as if expecting an encouraging word or two from her. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I wasn't ready to face the deity that could very well decide the fate of millions, maybe more. On the other hand, though, this eliminated the need for a messy rescue. This way, I could take my time; earn Palkia's trust… Or something like it. One of the men leading me cleared his throat when I looked back at her for the thousandth time, and my eyes snapped forward.

"Hey," I hissed at the guard to my left. He made no change in posture or stance as he walked, but his eyes flickered over. "You know the show _Star Trek: Enterprise_?" No response, but it was no matter. I just couldn't help poking a little fun at him. In half an hour, this would all be over. "Well, this reminds me of the episodes 'Demons' and 'Terra Prime'. This crazy guy, Paxton, wanted to get rid of all the aliens. Y'know why? 'Cause he thought they were inferior. That how you feel about all of us?" I grinned at him, unable to resist. "Anyways, you know what happened to Paxton? He died. Him and all the other Terra Prime operatives. Might stink if that happened to you guys."

That wasn't entirely true, though. I knew that at the end, they had all simply been arrested.

But maybe this guy didn't know that.

"Your threats," he finally said back in a low, thickly accented voice, "are empty. Life is not an American primetime television show."

"I don't know about that, this is-"

Behind us, Carolyn coughed loudly. I dared a look back at her, and received a harsh glare in return. All right, perhaps it was a bad time to be getting on the nerves of a Russian guard twice my size. Besides, I didn't particularly want to reveal the fact that I had my abilities back just yet.

As we neared the end of the hall, a pit began to form in my stomach. What if this didn't work? There always had existed the possibility that it wouldn't. But I couldn't stop now! I almost smarted off to the Russian President leading, but held my tongue. The last thing I wanted was Putin changing his mind about this.

At last we reached a steel-plated, bolted door. It apparently required a keycode, retina scan, and voice recognition, among a myriad of other firewalls. It was a good-sized door, but gave no indication of what it led to.

"Bring her forward."

The one I'd smarted off to grasped my arm and shoved me towards the President. I worked to keep my expression dispassionate as I locked a gaze with him. Staring him in the eyes was hard, but probably not going to be any more difficult than my encounter with Palkia would be.

"I have changed my mind on the terms of this meeting. You have fifteen minutes with the creature. The moment that time is up, you must be done. You will gain as much information as possible from it concerning the situation. Am I understood?"

I nodded, eager to get on with this. Fifteen minutes was hardly enough time, but I'd make do. Worst-case scenario, if fifteen minutes were up, Carolyn would just pull the fire alarm (which would have to be done eventually anyways) and that would be that. He lifted his icy stare and walked to the door. He punched in a numerical password, and a lock clicked. Another clicked after his retina was scanned. A computerized voice then intoned, "State your name and position."

"Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Republic."

"State the day."

"It is the twenty-third of August in the year two thousand seven."

"State the final code."

"Alpha-alpha three six seven five three zero nine."

"Access granted."

Not a moment later, several locks clicked. The door slid open, only to reveal another door. Putin stepped aside and signaled for me to go through. "Fifteen minutes," he reminded as I crossed the threshold.

The door behind me slid shut and the one in front slipped open. Ironically, it felt more as if I were going to my execution instead of a meeting to have a "conversation" of sorts. It took a moment, but I managed to calm the adrenaline pumping wildly through my veins enough to clear my mind. I needed to work quickly if this plan was going to work. The thought sharpened my senses and gave me a new sense of energy. I could do this!

I stepped through the entrance into a room about the size of a large gymnasium, much like the kind found in universities. The floor was smooth cement, and the walls had darkly tinted windows. The hall was faintly lit by some small fixtures on the sides of the walls, but most of it was black as night. My eyes soon adjusted to the dimness, but I still couldn't make out anything.

I wandered deeper in, reaching out my mind to the legendary I knew resided here. Strangely, though, I wasn't sensing a thing.

So I used the ability I'd had my whole life:

Gut reaction.

And, right then, my gut was screeching at me a single word:

"DODGE!"

I instantly leapt out of the way as something immense slammed to the ground. The ground beneath me cracked when it buckled under the attack. A feral roar cut through the dark silence, bringing chaos with it as I lifted into the air, desperately trying to feel for my opponent. A claw raked the air no more than a few meters from me, and I just narrowly dodged it.

Flying around ended up using more energy than anticipated, so attacking in mid-air was out of the question. Desperate to end this, I shouted, "I'm not going to hurt you, Parukia! I only require answers!"

_"LIAR!"_

The word burst into my mind like an atomic bomb. It was painful, painful enough to make me falter in mid-air, btu I psychically caught the string that would allow telepathy and pushed through to the legendary's mind. _I'm not!_ I thought back, and touched down on the floor behind the Spatial Pokémon. _I'm going to get you out of here._

I ran over to underneath one of the lights and spread my arms in submission. _I come here to help you._

Heavy footsteps approached, making the cold ground vibrate with each step. Then, a head lowered itself to my level. Palkia may have been without his abilities at the moment, but he was still intimidating beyond anything I had ever encountered. I shook off the shiver that was creeping up my spine enough to clear my vision and look at the deity. The silver biped looked somewhat like a sleek dragon, but the lights were too dim to see clearly.

_"You are not human,"_ the powerful voice boomed in my mind.

_Nope._ I chuckled nervously, lifting a paw for the legendary to see. _I'm a Pokémon, like you._

_"I do not recognize you."_

_Probably not._

Palkia moved closer yet, leaving me pinned to the wall with fear I tried not to betray. _"Then what are you?"_

_I'm… I'm…_ I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. _I'm a species of Pokémon created through artificial means. The original was manufactured by a band of humans known as Team Rocket in their attempt to have an omnipotent weapon. Their creation escaped and basically threatened to take over the world. That plan was thwarted, and now it's just… uh… a wanderer._

_"You speak as thought only one exists."_

_Only one _does_ exist._

_"Then who are you?"_

_I used to be human,_ I explained, thankful for telepathy and the fact that he had backed off a few inches. _A young girl. And now I'm… this. I look like the one called Mewtwo, and I even possess his abilities, but I'm really not._

The legendary emitted a low growl and pushed his face even closer to mine than before. I could now feel the Spatial Pokémon's icy breath against my fur. _"Then why should I trust you? Surely you are aware how your pathetic race captured me and confined me to this space."_

_Because you're the only one who can set things right and only I can help you get your abilities back. Kapeche?_ His only response was to stare at me incredulously. _…Nevermind. So will you let me help you?_

Palkia snorted, blasting me with cold air. _"Very well. It seems I have no choice in the matter,"_ he seemed to snarl and backed off a few steps. He swung his huge tail towards the wall, and the hall filled with light.

The legend was just as Satoshi Tajiri had designed it: A huge, dragon-like creature with a body of silver and occasionally lavender armour. His eyes blazed with a fury unlike any I'd seen before. A thick, metal collar was at the base of the legendary's neck, though I couldn't see the microchip Carolyn had described from here.

He towered over me, so far I had to crane my neck just to make eye contact. Palkia, on the other hand, obviously didn't think there was time for me to gape in wonder at him.

_"Where am I?"_

_You're on a planet called Earth, in a nation known as Russia, and—_

_"This is not the Earth I know."_

_You've – presumably - traveled to another dimension in which Pokémon don't exist. That's why you don't recognize anything. In fact, you may be causing universal chaos right now._

Palkia's eyes widened in what might have been shocked horror. But of course he wouldn't know; he'd been holed up here for years. _"Elaborate."_

_Remember when I told you I had once been human?_ The deity nodded, and I continued, _Well, there are about a hundred other humans that were turned into Pokémon. I think your being here is causing fluctuations in the space-time continuum._

_"That seems plausible."_ He paused to eye me again. _"Your psychic abilities are unsuppressed."_

_Well, I'm the only one for which that's true. The humans that captured you also captured all of us, and used the metal bands you and I wear to suppress our abilities. They don't know mine's deactivated, so they let me in here._ I rose up to where I could be face-to-face with Palkia._ I need to deactivate your band. Will you let me?_

Faintly, the words, _"I can hardly believe I am dropping myself to this level…"_ crossed my mind. _"Quickly."_

With a nod, I landed where the collar was. His shoulder muscle twitched so violently where I was that I nearly fell off. _Hold still!_ I ordered, feeling somewhat like a doctor trying to hold still a nervous patient. He growled, but didn't protest again. It only took a moment to locate the keypad, and I charged up a Shadowball. _Brace yourself,_ I warned before slamming the dark matter into the collar. It exploded in a violet mess of sparks and wires, and I grinned. _All right, now I need to pull the chip out of your shoulder._

He peered back at me. _"And then?"_

_Then you'll have your powers back._

_"And you believe I can then revert you all back to your human selves."_

My stomach flipped, and not just because I was upside-down while searching for the chip. _You can, can't you?_

_"Not exactly."_

"WHAT?" I screamed aloud, staring at him in horrified shock. _What do you mean you can't? _

_"If you have forgotten because your primitive little brain has such horrid memory, I have been disconnected from my dimension for quite some time,"_ Palkia shot back.

_But you're Palkia! _

He snorted. _"I also rely on Giratina and Dialga in all I do so that instances like this do not occur."_

I couldn't help but grumble at his excuse. Did I have any right to be upset? No, not really. For all anyone knew, there was more to this problem than met the eye. Besides that, I didn't know a thing about Giratina. With a sigh, I went back to searching the crevices of his armoured shoulder for the microchip. _There has to be something you can do… Something you can do on your own. Most of the other Pokémon I have seen here are lower-leveled, regular Joes. I mean, they're Lucarios… Pidgeys… nothing too special. The only quote-end-quote 'legendaries' are me and an Articuno that was brought in, and I don't know how to do anything._ The hall fell into silence as the legend seemed to be considering my words. At last, my fingertips ran over a foreign object jammed between the armour. "Gotcha," I whispered, and took one last look up at Palkia. _So what's it going to be?_

_"I…"_ He hesitated. _"I may be able to transport myself and those affected back to the Original Universe. Anything that happens from there depends on what Dialga, Giratina, the Alpha, and I can do."_

_Then we'd better get moving._ With one decisive, quick tug, I yanked the chip from his shoulder. It turned out to be more than an iPod-length microchip; what also came out were a series of wires and implants, as well. Palkia hissed in loud protest when it was pulled out, and in the next moment I found myself being blasted off my perch and flung into the wall. I took a split second and bounced off of the wall and onto the floor. The impact still jarred my shoulder, but at least I could still move.

Remembering the plan, I extended my consciousness to find Carolyn, and when I did, sent her a message: _Palkia is free. Pull a fire alarm NOW! And make sure everyone gets out!_

Just as Palkia was charging up an attack on his arm, I shouted, "HEY, STOP!" and dashed over in front of him. _We can't bring this place down yet! We have to wait for the—_

_**BRRRRRRING! BRRRRING!**_

The Spatial Pokémon's eyes were blazing with energized fury, but I held up a paw. Even as the alarm was going off madly and a computerized voice was calmly advising the building's occupants to please exit the complex, I couldn't have him act. Not yet. This needed to be convincing. As soon as I heard the sliding of doors and the frantic tramples of feet, I signaled to Palkia with a nod.

He obviously needed nothing more.

He swung a glowing arm towards the inside wall, and the attack burst through it like a knife through butter. The wall shattered right on impact, and cracks were already moving quickly through the rest of the wall. I had to create a barrier over my head just so I wouldn't be impaled by the falling debris.

The outside hall was complete chaos.

Between the blaring of the fire alarm, the shouts in both Russian and English, the crazed chatter of fifty Pokémon free from their cages, and the ear-splitting screech coming from Palkia that cut through it all, it seemed the world was going to Hell – or something close. Agents were trying to figure out what was going on, others were heading for the doors in thick parkas, and President Putin was yelling like Coach Bo Pelini during a Nebraska – Texas football game. Interestingly enough, Williams herself held the expression of a referee, taking all the heat and simply nodding at everything he was yelling in her face. I caught her making a wild "I don't know what's going on; don't look at me!" gesture and smiled. At that same moment, though, floating above the chaos, I realized something:

This was the moment when our plan had been to "improvise". Palkia was out, the fire alarm was going off, agents were running around as if on fire, and it seemed just about every Pokémon was out now. It seemed several workers were attempting to corral some of the creatures back into their cages, but they were all being fought off. Thinking on my feet (or rather, in the air), I zipped over to Palkia, who was surveying the situation. _Do what you have to keep the agents away, but try not to hurt anyone. Please?_ He gave a curt nod and a grumble.

I then went over to Carolyn, flashing a quick grin at the Russian president across from her. I landed in between them and first faced the latter. "Mister President, I know this looks bad, but it's really for the best." His jaw dropped open, but I didn't give him an opportunity to speak. "Carolyn, I need you to shut everyone's bands off. Can you do that?"

She cleared her throat, nervous eyes flickering from me to the international leader across from her. "I-I don't know if I can."

"I'll send Myria with you. Would that help?"

Putin was practically beet-red with rage. "Y-you were in on this, Agent!" he yelled in a burst of outrage. "You are a disgrace and a traitor to the entire-!"

"Oh, cool it already!" she shouted back. "You should've known what you were getting into, Mister President, and then maybe this whole thing wouldn't have happened! Now, sir, are you going to let me try and solve this or not?"

After several seconds in which their collective glares could have alighted ice cubes, he finally cursed and started down the hallway. "I will go with you. I am the only one who knows every access code… though it seems you already know one or two." He glanced reproachfully back at me. Putin broke into a jog, and Carolyn ran after him.

I managed to spot Myria amid the mess of bodies, and tapped her on the arm. The Lucario whirled about and nearly sliced me open with the spike on the back of her hand, but in that same moment almost gave me a hug. I quickly gave her a psychic push backwards. _Don't impale me. You're not human yet._

She beamed at me nonetheless. _"You did it! You got Palkia out!"_

_Yeah, but there's been a change of plans. Go with Agent Williams and the President to the control room. He's agreed to help her shut off all the bands, but I think they might need some help._

_"All right."_ With that, the Spaniard dashed through the crowd and after the two.

I knew there was one more thing I had to do, but I had to keep this from going entirely out of hand. I teleported over to the Articuno I'd seen earlier, ignored its shocked look, and sent, _Okay, my name's Christine, and I'm going to help get us all out of here. Can you try to get everyone… Like… in the same space?_ I gestured with my in an attempt to get the "bring people together" message across. The Freeze Pokémon started to send something back, but I interrupted with, _And don't worry; that band will be off soon enough. Thanks in advance. _

Seeing as there was no point in hiding the fact that I now had full control of my powers, I focused on the band around my wrist, and it shattered. Now, though, I had just one more mission to accomplish.

I needed to go pick up a couple of teenage boys.


	11. Over Here, Over There

Between fifty Pokémon running around like chickens with their heads chopped off, angry ARFBI agents, and a legendary who couldn't fix anything that was wrong, I was more than happy to leave the complex. I rocketed out the doors, the psychic energy powering my flight knocking anything in my way aside. I caught the surprised looks of a few guards, most of whom were listening in on their radios. They were, no doubt, receiving some very odd instructions.

The air outside was just as frigid as it had been when I'd been first taken a few weeks back, but at least it wasn't blowing snow everywhere. Snow kicked back in my wake as I sped through the air, finally able to look back and admire the beauty of Siberia. It wasn't a wasteland. It was a canvas of snow, ice, and trees.

Seeing my tail trailing behind me, though, brought me back to reality. I'd be stuck with the purple appendage forever if I didn't get moving. But how long would it take to fly all the way to New Mexico, even if I pushed myself to my mental limit? After all, the only things holding me back were my own mind and the laws of physics – which it seemed weren't as set in stone as everyone had thought. The fact that I was flying via self-levitation in a body that wasn't supposed to exist here proved it. It seemed my only choice was to try teleporting again.

Getting to Montana had been fairly simple. All I had done was think of the picture on Google Images and go there. The thing with New Mexico, unfortunately, was that I had never been anywhere near there, nor did I know exactly where my brother and friend were being held. What could be done, though? It hadn't occurred to me that I would ever be the one to rescue them. I knew the general area of New Mexico and the locations of a few cities, but from there…

Realizing flying wasn't doing me any good, I stopped behind a tree. I'd need all the energy possible to teleport all the way there and back. I took a deep breath in of the chill air; let it clear my mind. I let my mind wander the map, let it wander the globe; let it stop near the southwestern United States. I pictured the rising buildings and city streets of Albuquerque, resting almost squarely in the middle of the state. The icy landscape of Siberia no longer existed. I was hanging in the air over downtown Albuquerque, sweating in the heat of summer. All I had to do was go there.

This and only this in mind, I gave a mental push towards that picture, and the world around me lost focus. I closed my eyes against the distortion, and sure enough, I could feel myself moving through space and time at a pace that couldn't be calculated. The world around me seemed to be spinning; pushing me through it like a twister and –

- I was falling again. Hot air blew around me, but this time I was ready and caught myself in mid-air. I took in the surrounding, dark city, and thankfully no helicopters or airplanes flew nearby. As far as I could tell, though, this was Albuquerque. Now that I was here, I needed to somehow locate Aaron and Tanner. I flew a little higher, where the air was thinner and then made my way past city limits. Now that I was here, I could track them down. I'd been living with Aaron for fourteen years and could probably single out his mind, his "psychic imprint", fairly easily.

Extending my consciousness proved more distressing than I had expected it to be. It wasn't like back at home, when I had just lightly brushed my brother's thoughts. I moved past the hundreds of thousands of minds in the city and tried to single out something familiar. I captured glimpses of names, faces, memories, dreams of sleeping bodies, random thoughts, but nothing I recognized. It flooded my conscious too quickly to remember anything. I swept the area, singled out the most under populated section, and pushed in. Here, I could focus on my task. I had no clue as to what surrounded it; I could only feel minds. A smile came onto my face when I saw an image of myself, of Mom and Dad, of our house in Omaha. Only Aaron would know those things.

I'd found him.

I focused, teleported, and moments later was standing in a concrete room. I opened my eyes into the pitch black of night. I raised a paw, fed enough energy around it to give off a little light, and spotted my brother and Tanner snoozing on two cots. I gave them each a little nudge and hissed into their minds, _Guys, wake up! It's me!_

Both bolted awake almost simultaneously. The two teenagers stared at me with mixed expressions of confusion, exhaustion, and – most of all – happiness. They clambered out of bed, each rushing over to me.

"What happened? How'd you get here?" Tanner whispered excitedly. "I thought they took your powers away with the wristband thing."

Aaron didn't say anything, just wrapped me up in a huge hug. I had to suppress a loud giggle and push him away. "We'll have our reunion back in Russia. I can't tell you everything here; we need to go _now_."

Tanner made a small choking noise. "Wha— Go? How are we going to go anywhere? You're not thinking of-"

"Hang on," I advised, and slung my arm through my friend's, yanking him closer. I grabbed Aaron's hand before he could protest. Just as I saw the night guard coming towards us, I thought of the chill landscape I'd just come from and went back.

We landed at the front entrance in a pile of bodies. Aaron had the misfortune of being squished on the bottom, with myself sandwiched between him and Tanner.

"Get OFF," I mumbled through Aaron's shirt, and tried to push Tanner off with my tail. He rolled off, and when I freed my face from the mouthful of cotton, I saw he looked partially scared; partially lost. My brother was just laughing his head off, even when I'd also rolled onto the tile floor and onto my feet.

"We're not doing that again."

I grinned at Tanner as he stood shakily. "We will if we have to, which we probably will." I helped Aaron to his feet and grasped his hand again. "Come on, we better hurry!" I called and starting running, dragging Aaron along with me and Tanner stumbling behind us.

When we made it to the main hallway in which all the chaos was occurring, both Aaron and Tanner stopped dead in their tracks, jaw-dropped. It hadn't really sunk in yet, but I supposed it was quite a scene. Some fifty-odd creatures were rushing about impatiently, confused, lost, still without their abilities, and all used to be human. Palkia remained at the back, where a gaping hole was still smoking from the room he'd burst from. Aaron's hand still in mine, I shouted, "Let's go! We have to get to Palkia," above the noise, and we dashed through the crowd of Pokémon.

A blur flapped past me, and I recognized it as the Articuno whom had been brought in just that morning. Its restraints were now all gone, and there was just a small mark where its band had been around its ankle. "Hey, hey!" I called, and flagged it down. The bird dropped off a small Pikachu and then hovered just over me – there wasn't even room to set down. _What's your name?_

_"Vincent. I'm from Hong Kong,"_ came a male voice, maybe around Tanner's age. _"Christine, I think I might-"_

_You know what? Hold that thought._ I paused, then put my paws together and grimaced. _Please._ I let my gaze travel back to Tanner and Aaron. _Can you just keep an eye on these two? They're very, very important to me. Make sure they don't wander off, get attacked, that sort of thing?_ Vincent nodded, but some sort of apprehension still lingered in his dark eyes. _One more thing: Are all the bands shut off?_

_"Nearly. I looked in on the control room while getting Bryan. The, uh, Pikachu,"_ he clarified. _"That Lucario was working with Agent Williams, I think, and the president."_

_Awesome. And the other wings?_

_"Empty. We should all be here."_

I looked around, and realized something was wrong. _Where did Palkia go?_

_"He said he was… 'taking care of something',"_ a new, higher voice interrupted. It came with a very odd clarity I hadn't even heard from Myria. I whirled to face an Abra, who sat on the ground as if nothing were happening. Her mostly-blind eyes looked down the opposite wing. _"You might try down that way."_

_Thanks._

I finally looked to Tanner and Aaron, who still stood there, rooted to the ground with awe and barely-concealed excitement. My brother had his blue eyes trained on the huge bird which had just flown off. I caught a random string of thoughts:

_"This can't be real, it can't, none of this is real, it's a dream, it's a dream, I didn't get my coffee this morning, Tanner still owes me for that bet, could really use a Starbucks right now…"_

"Aaron."

His head snapped up and the train of thought cut off.

"We'll get through this. Yeah?"

The 17-year-old gave a very tight nod and pretended to be occupied with the ceiling.

"And Tanner, quit gawking!"

"There's a freaking _Quilava_ in front of me!" he exclaimed in a sort of exhilarated frustration.

I laughed, caught somewhere between relief that my boys were back with me and anticipation of what was to come. "I need to find Palkia. You two just… stay out of trouble, okay?" Tanner gave nodded in understanding, but Aaron still stared at the ceiling. At last, I waved it off, rose up, and shot down the hall the Abra had pointed to. Before I could get much closer, though, an unseen force knocked me off-balance and threw me to the ground.

Okay, so no more flying for a few minutes.

I edged along the wall until I finally poked my head around the corner, only to quickly shield my eyes from the blinding light emerging from around the corner. Palkia stood, one foot braced behind the other, claws up as he worked what looked like a huge, bright portal in the center of the hall. Cracks and signs of massive pressure threatened to crumble the area around him, but the sheer power kept it from collapsing. A wind whipped so violently I feared it would destroy the rest of the facility if it got any stronger. The lights had flickered off, but there was really no need for them; the portal seemed as bright as a star.

I heard his voice, agitated, in my mind: _"Leave me!"_

_Are you okay? _I asked, rather naively, but genuinely worried. If something went wrong, none of us would be getting home.

He turned a crimson eye on me, almost accusingly. _"I will be… fine. The portal is nearly ready. Gather the rest and have them ready for departure,"_ his telepathy wavered in my mind. Figuring that the best way to let him know I understood was simply to do as he asked, I about-faced and dashed off back to the mass of Pokémon.

Just as I returned, I spotted Myria, Carolyn, and the president. I touched down near them. "Did it work? Are all the bands off?" The two humans nodded, Agent Williams with a little more enthusiasm than her colleague. I couldn't quite read President Putin's expression, but he reminded me a bit of a waiter after a very, very long night.

I put my paws together. "Okay, here's what's going on. Palkia's trying to create a portal-"

"Trying?" Putin exclaimed in disbelief. He looked about ten seconds from marching around the corner and giving the Temporal Pokémon a piece of his mind.

"-in order to get us back to his universe. The problem is that this building's going to collapse any minute now; I just know it. The moment that portal vanishes, half the infrastructure crumbles. We'll be fine, but it would probably be a good idea to evacuate everyone."

Carolyn whistled between her teeth. "Should've stayed with the FBI…" She turned to the man beside her. "Mister President, if you would follow me…"

"Gladly," he muttered, and in fact pushed _ahead _of her.

Just as she walked off, I felt a sudden urge to say something. "Hey! Agent Williams!" She stopped to look back at me quizzically. In a very human moment of obligation, I rushed over and wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace. I sensed a slight shock roll over her, but after a pause she returned the hug.

"All right, get outta here, you crazy cat. And don't come back 'til you're you again, yeah?"

It was an admonishment, but the joking manner made me smile. "You can count on it." I swallowed an unexpected lump. "Thank you. For everything."

"I'm only glad I was able to help. Tell Myria she owes me, too." The agent winked at me and jogged away, the Russian president just behind her.

_"Christine!"_

I whirled about, startled from my thoughts of the kind woman who had helped Myria and I so much. The dark-eyed Articuno, Vincent, was hovering over me. _What's up?_

_"Palkia reports he is ready. He says that if the portal gets any larger it'll rip the facility apart. We need to go now."_

_Got it._

I rose up to join the avian, and together we managed to get everyone in some kind of orderly fashion. With Myria, Aaron, and Tanner's help, we more or less corralled the small mass of Pokémon towards the now violently whipping portal.

The structural integrity of the base was buckling under the immense pressure of the seeming wormhole. A startled shriek caught my attention and in the corner of my eye I saw Vincent flailing in mid-air. I zipped over as best I could, fighting the wind myself, and caught the large bird, effectively crashing into the ground. I groaned loudly and he rolled off, looking a little embarrassed.

_"Sorry about that. Thanks."_

_No problem,_ I insisted, brushing myself off.

Palkia looked back at us and gave a signal of sorts with his eyes. The dragon's face was contorted even behind the metal mask, no doubt with the strain of creating and holding the portal. I raised my telepathic "voice" as best I could above the chaos and shouted in the only way I could, _Everyone, move in _now!_ This is our best and only chance, but we've got to move quickly! Go, go, go!_

One by one, and with increasing confidence, the Pokémon approached the portal and leapt through the event horizon. After just a minute or so, the only ones left of the fifty were Myria, Vincent, and I; as well as Tanner and Aaron. For several seconds we all just stood in a sort of paralyzed shock and apprehension.

_"Well, I guess we better go now," _Myria piped up.

"You guys ready?" I asked my brother and friend. They gave stiff nods but no more. "Then… together!" I placed one paw on the place where the humerus met the vertebrae on Vincent's blue, feathered form, and the other in my brother's hand. He took Tanner by the elbow, and Tanner, after a moment's hesitation, Myria's paw.

"On three. One… two…"

A collective tense went through the group.

"…three!"

We all dashed forward and leapt into the void, no matter what lay beyond…


	12. Bridge I

_Cerulean City Cave, Kanto  
Approximately three weeks ago…_

From the very second Mewtwo awoke he knew something was very, _very_ wrong.

In fact, for several seconds thereafter, he merely lay there, for some reason fearful of opening his eyes and seeing what sort of situation he currently was in. But he was cold; so cold. Survival was key right now, and for reason, he had the sinking feeling he would contract hypothermia if he did not get to a warmer environment.

He opened his amethyst eyes, which quickly went from tired slits to so wide one could see the whites.

There was a hand there. There was a _hand_ in front of his _face_. He was staring at the slightly yellowish, thin, skeletal, four-fingers-and-a-thumb hand of the species homo sapiens.

Mewtwo retracted his paw back into the relative warmth of the brown cloak he had wrapped himself in the night before, but the hand moved. He forced himself into a state of calm. If he hyperventilated, matters would only be worse. Perhaps this was simply a very elaborate dream. Perhaps Darkrai had decided to take a trip to Kanto.

But when he closed his eyes, laying his head back again, he realized something else: When he tried to extend his consciousness out to the cave in an attempt to find Darkrai, who he had no doubt was there, he didn't feel anything. The Psychic had to try, though.

_I demand you release me from this nightmare!_

He listened. He waited. Nothing came.

_Darkrai!_

Off in the distance, a Zubat fluttered.

_I do not find this amusing!_

He waited exactly ten minutes, but nothing changed. Slowly, he raised his arm, and… the hand was still there. Cautiously, he let his gaze wander up the wrist, past the elbow, and up to the shoulder. The whole arm was human and covered with short, fine white hairs the same colour as his usual fur coat.

Shivering (_From the cold,_ he told himself), he sat up. Mewtwo fumbled with the too-many digits on the human hand and the identical left to untie the cloak around him. It slipped down his skin to a small pile around his waist, and he surveyed his apparent body. There was minimal hair on the relatively well-muscled torso, lean from what most humans would have considered a good exercise regimen. He rolled his shoulders; testing them; feeling every little muscle pull, contract, and relax in turn. In all honesty, he did not feel significantly different.

But something, _something_ was missing. Something he couldn't quite put his paw – no, finger, he corrected himself – on.

He pulled the cloak back up as he stood unsteadily on two awkwardly flat feet. He nearly fell, all too late realizing that he no longer possessed a massive tail for balance. Such a shame humans had evolved past that. He wrapped it tightly around his almost disgustingly frail body. It felt quite odd as he half-walked, half-stumbled over to the small reflecting pool he had spent the night nearby. Mewtwo stopped at the shore, dropped to his knees, and gawked at the shocked human face gazing back at him.

Fair, pointed, alien features stared wide-eyed into his eyes. His breathing picked back up as he ran a trembling hand through thin, white hair which fell nearly to his shoulders. He moved both palms over his head – down the scalp, to the round ears, over the flat brow, nose, and mouth…

The Psychic cleared his throat – something he found came quite naturally, to his horror – and once more rose. He let the cloak fall to his feet, ignoring the chill that immediately raised bumps all over his skin. His gaze traveled over the considerably thin torso and arms, down to the waist and hips. Following a line of darker hairs down his abdomen, he saw that he did not possess a navel, as most humans did. His eyes traveled a few inches further down, and… He lifted an eyebrow in intrigue. Well, he _did_ possess the other distinctive physical attribute of all human males.

His thighs and legs, quite contrary to the top half of his body, had toned out quite nicely. It seemed that most of his general physiology had carried over to this form.

But that still didn't explain why he was in this form in the first place.

Mewtwo drew the cloak over his nude form, wrapping up tightly against the uncomfortable chill of the cave. And then it hit him. Now he understood why he felt so oddly, why he was so cold, why this body truly felt alien:

All his psychic abilities were gone. _Gone._

The mere thought was draining. He had lived for so many years under the constant bombardment of other thoughts they had simply become like white noise in the background. Over the years, he had built up shielding, but even then it had still been _there_. This was strangely isolating.

He rather hated it.

And he couldn't live like this – not for long, anyways, and not alone. His answers to this trepidation were not here, in Cerulean Cave; this much he was certain of.

First, though, he needed clothes.

Sometime later, he managed to find a duffel bag that had been left behind. Well, that wasn't quite accurate. He had stayed and watched the owner of the bag, a man about his height of six feet and approximately the same build, until he left for a moment. Slight guilt gnawed at his gut as he rummaged through the bag and found a clean hooded sweatshirt, track-style pants, and even a spare pair of socks and shoes. He felt like a common thief. He felt he was assimilating into this existence far too easily.

He dressed silently and with little difficulty. Mewtwo knew enough of human societal practices in order to at least function normally. Just before taking off, though, he found a notebook and flipped it open, finding a pen as well. He wrote:

_I apologize in advance for taking your clothing. However, it was to our mutual benefit that you not know my identity. You may care to know that there is a very powerful Onix on the floor just above this one. It would be in your best interests to not pursue him._

He paused, thinking, and continued:

_If you seek the most powerful of those in this cave, you may find yourself rather disappointed. I hear he is absent.  
Thank you for your unwitting hospitality._

His conscience clearer, he discovered the man's wallet, made a mental note of his name, and the approximate worth of the clothing. He would repay him someday.

The once-Psychic wandered out of the famed, feared cave and into the sunlight. He squinted against the light of day and considered his decided course of action. The chill of late autumn bit at his face and hands, but he thanked his good fortune he'd found the clothes. His traveling cloak was tucked under his arm, folded up neatly. He wasn't planning on giving it up any time soon.

He stopped at the edge of the small river that separated the cave from Cerulean's mainland. It wasn't terribly wide, but there was no way he could leap across. He frowned at the impending predicament.

This was most unfortunate.

Already hating the situation he'd stupidly gotten himself into, he peeled off the sweatshirt, tied it around his socks and shoes, and threw it to the other shore. It had to be close to freezing in the water. At least, though, his destination was not far from here…

Shaking away the thought, Mewtwo stepped back from the water, took a running leap, and plunged into the depths. As he came up for air, the freezing water caught his breath and sucked every ounce of heat out of his body. He quickly worked his arms and legs against their respective wills to get to the other side, and he clambered out, soaked and panting. Perhaps he did not have as much upper body strength as he previously thought.

How _ever_ did Kitajima do it…? He shook his head in disbelief, thinking of the famed Olympic swimmer. Shaking off the water as best he could, he at last put on his dry clothes and hoped the pants would dry out soon enough.

Now he made his way more quickly yet, going up the path which led to the famed Sea Cottage at Cerulean's northern tip. It was Monday, and most humans had already gone to their places of employment, but a few passerbies gave him odd looks, no doubt because of his soaked pants and hair. Mewtwo ignored them and simply crossed his arms, trying to keep warm.

At last he reached the large structure's front door. After only a moment's hesitation, he rapped his knuckles on the door, only to wince at the pain that lanced up his hand. He shook it out, glaring at his fragile appendage.

"Just a minute!" a man's voice called from somewhere inside. He stood patiently on the porch, his eyes trailing over the door. All 150 native to the region had been etched into the elaborate entrance, including himself, he noticed. It wasn't anything new to him, though. After all, he knew the owner of this property… if only indirectly. Nonetheless he found it unnerving to see his image so publicly displayed, despite that only the commissioner knew what it signified.

The door opened, pulling the Genetic Pokémon (formerly, he corrected with a start) from his musings. A wide-eyed, young man a couple inches shorter than he with tousled brown hair pushed up safety goggles and peered at him. "Yes?" he greeted amicably.

It was at this point Mewtwo realized an even greater barrier. He opened his mouth, closed it, and grimaced. Frustrated, moreso with himself than the scientist before him, he shouldered past the young man and searched frantically for a piece of scrap paper and a pen. He found one of each, and started to write quickly.

"Excuse me," the scientist retorted, "you can't be in here. Who are you? Why are you-?"

Mewtwo shoved the scrap of paper at him.

_Doctor Masaki?_

it read.

The young man's eyebrows went up as he read it. "Uh, yes, that's me. Call me Bill."

He gestured for the scrap back, and, perplexed, Bill handed it to him.

He wrote again:

_I require your assistance concerning a matter of utmost importance.  
And I believe you __do__ know me. Look into my eyes._

Bill read the new note, and with a wrinkled brow, gazed at the man before him. As if responding to the scrutiny, Mewtwo straightened his spine and carried himself a little taller, eyes flashing despite the lack of psychic adrenaline in his veins. He still had his pride. He still had his dignity.

And he still had his past.

Bill inhaled sharply at realizing just who was standing in his foyer. "Dear Arceus… I could never forget those eyes…" he whispered, eyes even wider than they had been.

To say that this meeting would be awkward was a _serious_ understatement, Mewtwo thought with a feeling of dread. But when most of the humans one was familiar with were either unsavory figures from his past, dead, or adolescents, he had few places to turn to.

He only hoped that this individual could turn him _back_.


End file.
